Thu 18 Nov 2021
Reviewed by LJ Roberts: GERRY SPENCE – Blood on the Table.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[5] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
GERRY SPENCE – Blood on the Table. Forge Books, hardcover, March 2021. Setting: Contemporary Wyoming.
First Sentence: Ringo felt something hard poking him in the ribs.
Famed trial attorney Gerry Spence takes readers to small-town Wyoming, where 11-year-old Ringo must fight against corruption, prejudice, and hatred in order to protect his family.
Time skips are frustrating, but time skipping between 1947,1940, and 1945; then, back to 1940, to 1947, to 1926, is just too much. What happened to telling a story in a linear format?
The characters, almost all of whom are dislikable, read as stereotypes. Perhaps it is because stereotypes are based on reality that they make the book unsettling.
Unfortunately, the plot gives the reader nothing to grasp, yet Spence is an excellent writer. You feel it, you know it, but the format and darkness of this story overwhelm the quality of the writing. And then the conclusion. No one knows better than a lawyer that justice is blind and not always served well. But oh, how one always hopes.
Blood on the Table is dark and violent and might work for those who love noir. Spence; however, is an amazing writer. Here’s hoping his next book is more reminiscent of his book Court of Lies.
Rating: Poor.
November 18th, 2021 at 10:08 pm
Sounds as if he bit off more than his talents can chew in a first novel. Whatever happened to editors telling writers things like this?
November 18th, 2021 at 10:23 pm
Your point is well taken, David, about the role of an editor and a celebrity author, but as LJ points out, this is his second book, the first being COURT OF LIES (2019).
I almost never read novels by celebrity authors.
November 18th, 2021 at 10:31 pm
An 11 year old must fight against corruption, prejudice, and hatred!!! Is this the Harry Potter effect??
November 18th, 2021 at 10:43 pm
Reason Number Three for me to pass on this one.
November 19th, 2021 at 8:06 am
What Steve said about “celebrity” novelists goes here too.
I have the same trouble with television shows that jump back and forth willy-nilly in time rather than just telling a linear story. One flashback, OK, but the constant jumping back and forth in time is just confusing to the viewers (perhaps that was on purpose) and frustrating in general.