So what's good about it? The book starts in the middle of a train wreck and in the narrator's head, immediately drawing you into a life-or-death situation. It's a good technique and it got me reading right away over some other books on my list. So there's plenty of craft and skill here. The book is about a battle between the forces of love and death, with death an actual creature, while love is represented in the interplay between the protagonist and his lady. A lot of it is good. Overall, I read it pretty quickly and enjoyed it.
So why not 5 stars? The pacing drags in a couple of spots, especially directly after the riveting beginning, before the supernatural peril begins. There's a lot of action, but somehow it's not that gripping. The sex scenes are well-done, fun and actually linked into the development of the characters well, but in places are one-after-another and can be a little bit repetitive. I think that's what is provoking the comments about too much sex in the book, which may not really be possible. Also, the blonde female heroine is realistic but some of her responses are somewhat stereotypical or cardboard cut-out. This is a well-done book, but it lacks the emotional power-punch of a book like "The Long Goodbye" or one of Hemingway's taut novels, like "A Farewell To Arms."
Recently I read a really outstanding Amazon Kindle book selling for $1.99 - "The Wounded Man," which really knocked my socks off. "The Wounded Man" is an excellent Chandleresque hard boiled mystery. Comparing "The Sacrifice" with "The Wounded Man" may help to illuminate "The Sacrifice." One obvious difference is that "The Sacrifice" is quite a bit longer. Publishing houses seem to demand length above all else, and that may be one reason the excellent "The Wounded Man" is a Kindle-only book. I wouldn't say length really pays off for "The Sacrifice," which might have been more powerful if it had been shorter. Both "The Sacrifice" and "The Wounded Man" involve love stories interweaved with a mystery about multiple murders. Both move the story through action and dialogue. "The Wounded Man" and "The Sacrifice" each have steamy love scenes, and the love scenes are integral to the plot. Much like Raymond Chandler's novels, "The Wounded Man" achieves a shockingly high literary level with characters that are complex, and that are not stereotypical, within the hardboiled mystery format. "The Wounded Man" features sharp observations, and limpid prose that is just a giant leap above what we find in the mainstream novels that the big publishers churn out. The complexity of character in The Wounded Man leads to a stunning conclusion, which causes the protagonist and the reader to re-examine what came before.
In contrast, the supernatural angle of "The Sacrifice" is well-done, but not developed into a really seering drama. Only the narrator in "The Sacrifice" is complex and intriguing. The ending action scene is a little bit mundane or ordinary. The ending is pleasant, but lacks emotional impact. In the final analysis, "The Wounded Man" deals with death, murder and love in an emotionally intense way. "The Sacrifice" creates great atmosphere, some intriguing spookiness, and a good relationship between the man and woman at the heart of it. However, "The Sacrifice" lacks seering intensity. "The Sacrifice" is well-written, and well-crafted, but it won't leave an imprint. At the same time, it's worth reading. It feels like there's a great book inside the author of "The Sacrifice," if she can find her emotional center and spill it on the page.Get more detail about Forbidden: The Sacrifice (Book 1).
