User blog:7GSTF/Crimes of Passion book 2 - A Review

I recently announced the fact that I was planning to put an end to my long readership of PB’s books. It gave me no joy to make that statement, considering the fact that I had loved and appreciated their books for many, many years. This year, they plumbed the lowest of depths with their ‘writing’ which ranged from the horrific to the hopeless. However, there were a few bright spots in between the wreckage of their literary coil. One is BOLAS 2, which I shall reserve for a later blog (I shall analyze it along with BOLAS 1), and the other was COP 2. Kindred never appealed to me, and therefore, I shall simply ignore it and set it aside.

Popular opinion, and pop cultural examples have shown that - it is difficult to make a great work of art, it is even more difficult to provide an adequate sequel or prequel to that great work. Most sequels or prequels never achieve the level of acclaim or fame that the original enjoyed. Most become a source of scorn and mockery. Among the few which bucked this trend are - Aliens 2, Terminator 2, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Harry Potter novels, The Empire Strikes Back, and so on. I am sorry to say that COP 2 did not join these fabled sequels in my opinion. However, it didn’t disappoint.

COP 1 was a great book by any standard. It had an excellent mystery plot, seamlessly weaving the various clues into a grand narrative tapestry. It had a three dimensional LI. This LI wasn’t a perfect, perpetually likeable figure either. Their dark, mysterious past made them intriguing, and their controversial public image was a rarity as far as Choices interests went. Most Choices LI, even if rebellious, rarely show it on a big, grand stage in front of all the tabloids and paparazzi. This LI was exactly that. The LI was excessively grey, in almost every manner. Rules weren’t meant to be followed or broken, they were meant to be bent, when it came to this character. It suffices to say that this character thoroughly interested me. Naturally, I read the story with interest. It was a compelling tale. The murder mystery was tightly written, and the characters were well developed and well utilised.

It was one of the few times in 2022 that the side characters had distinct personalities of their own - Luke was a compelling character. His anti establishment bent of mind, keen eye for observation and his hacking skills make him a character worthy of interest. He has witty quips to offer the audience. He does not simply parrot or follow the MC in every way. He has his quirks and proudly displays them too. His relationship with Ruby feels natural and unforced. Unlike many of the NPCs of the recent past, he really does feel like a real person with likes and dislikes and he makes himself known. Ruby is a delight as a character. She is quirky, fun and starry eyed when in the company of famous people. There can be no question that she represents the common person when it comes to interacting with celebrities. She therefore, represents the reader in these interactions, and more often than not, I felt a connection to her character. These two remain the same in book two as well, but the number of interactions they have with the MC and Trystan are reduced somewhat. Still, they weren’t characters who were completely dead in their interactions and had a fair amount of personality and humour. In short, they weren’t boring and did a lot of things right.

Mafalda was a great character too, as were the antagonists. The main villain seemed to come out of nowhere at the end, but the other villains were well set up and they had plenty of character too. The blacksmith was an out and out villain and his backstory had plenty of depth and fleshed out his character quite well.

While COP 1 did not focus much on the MC, and instead focused more on solving Trystan’s problems, I never minded the plot much. It was also a welcome change from the mediocrity that they were producing at that time as well. Quite simply, the change of pace was quite welcome. Also, it was a rare book that focused more on the LI’s motivations than on the MC, and it was quite nice to see something different.

COP 2 didn’t live up to the first book’s potential, it definitely brought a glimmer of hope to some long time readers like I, that PB still had it in them to make great books for their reading audience. COP 2 carries forward the strong characterisation of the MC and the LI. More of their motivations and back stories are revealed. The LI more so than the MC, for sure. Akin to the first book, this book also focused on the LI’s personal development in a far greater fashion than the previous book.

This book took the spheres of the public and the private and combined them in a neat fashion. Due to the fact that the LI’s family were very powerful - as they were royals, and the fact that they were very public wielders of power, there could be no doubt that the public and the private sphere would collide much like the first book once again. This time, it had more repercussions. The fact that one of the LI's family could be criminals was not an eyebrow raiser. The fact that they would commit more murders after one year was the real eye opener. The murders were far more personal to the LI this time around, and by extension to the MC as well. The shock factor was upped many notches this time around. The murders of the LI’s half sibling and of the lawyer that was representing their dead fiance’s parents in a trial shake the reader. Although many on the fandom forum expressed the thought that the second book was far more impersonal than the first, with the focus being squarely on the LI, I beg to differ here. I am of the opinion that the second book was rather more personal, precisely due to the fact that the focus was on the MC. The fact of the matter is, as soon as a book written by PB has a sequel or a prequel, a stronger connection with the character is only natural. It is the same case here. While the first book established the basis of the relationship between the MC and the LI, the second one takes it further into the personal sphere, something which immediately makes the story relatable, despite some of its outlandish premises. Despite the fact that the LI’s family are royals, the book makes them relatable through their jealous rivalry and their mutual hatred of one another as well as their struggles for power and recognition. The book also has a weak attempt at trying to solve the question of who is a rightful monarch and tries to handle the question of illegitimacy delicately. However, these efforts are not satisfactory. The handling of the question of succession is rather messy, but the lust for power is well depicted. Remarkably enough, the very position of king or queen is shown to be a poisoned chalice, one which is better left in the hands of others, which is an accurate representation, especially if we consider the real world examples that we have documented. The LI’s disinterest in the throne and their eventual decision to abdicate is logically written, and is harmonious with the rest of the tone of the novel.

The writing of the villain is divisive. The use of red herrings does make it far more difficult to guess the villain this time around. Every sibling is made to look guilty. Even the parents aren’t spared. It creates a convoluted narrative. The suspicions transfer from sibling to sibling. In this respect, the final villain is well hidden for a very long time. The majority of readers will have no way to guess their true identity. This is both bad and good. It is good since it keeps the mystery alive for a long time, it is bad because the answer feels contrived, and it seems to have come out of thin air, rather than out of logic, which is in sharp contrast to the decision made by the LI, especially at the end. The villain and the manner in which they are revealed isn’t the best, and it can leave many readers wanting something more. The abruptness of the climax can be unpleasant too. The plot was decently written, and didn’t stretch itself too thin. The promise of a third book does leave me some hope for next year’s lineup. However, I don’t know what angle they are going to take for it. Will they take up the unsolved mystery of MC’s father’s death, or some other issue which is once again related to the LI rather than the MC? Time will tell. I do wish they would give a good book, and not a smutty book disguised as another genre. Considering recent trends of PB doing just that, I have little hope in this regard.

The main problem with this book was the fact that it was obsessed with smut, like most of the year’s books, with the exceptions of BOLAS 2 and Kindred. The first book had a perfectly paced slow burning romance. This book did not keep the slow pace and instead forced many more amorous scenes upon us. Some were justified. Others weren’t. The increased focus on sex became annoying at times, but unlike the other books in the year, it felt genuine, since the two characters had shared a romance stretching over a lengthy period of time. It did not feel rushed, but it did feel contrived and force fitted. Simply put, they could have shown patience. They didn’t.

On the whole the book was enjoyable and had great moments. The art was excellent, with several CGs being particularly well made. The plot was decent and the characters were developed with poise and purpose. It wasn’t perfect, nor was it at the level of the previous book, but it was a good effort all the same and one which definitely brought some light into a gloomy, depressing year for PB, especially if we consider their writing quality. A rating of 70/100 will suffice for this book, which is no masterpiece, but is readable many times over. Good job PB. A decent performance.

Yours,

7GSTF.