Jul 26, 2017
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Tiny Tuesday Spill
Lightning Review - Joe Cafe
Joe Cafe - by JD Mader
Blurb:
The murder at Joe Café is an abomination. It stops the entire universe. For Michael, it tarnishes everything, including his badge. For Chet and his hostage, it is the beginning of a chase that will lead them through dingy motels and the darkest corridors of their minds. Dogan just wants Sara back. Jimmy the Cat wants to make up for all the time he has wasted. Frankie wants to live a 'moral' life, erasing everyone in his path who does not live up to his standards. Conventional notions of good and evil quickly blur as they are all forced to look into the mirrors they have avoided for so long. Chilling and horrifying, whimsical and wretched, Joe Café's cast of broken characters try to find their way in a world they never understood to begin with...for the Chens, it is easy. They are dead.
Review:
Joe Cafe is unlike any other book I've ever read. Other reviews have classified it as a crime thriller, suspense novel, or psychological thriller, but it's both all and none of those things. It is a dark, complex, thought-provoking look at the complexities of human nature and the perceptions and social inequities that often-times contort it, paired with a crime-oriented plot.
Joe Cafe draws the reader in from word one. The style is simple and straight-forward, with evocative descriptions and creative turns of phrase. The characters are richly-drawn and complex, the sort that you want to know more about. The plot takes a backseat in this book, not because of neglect on the author's part, but because the characters and the emotions they bring out in the reader are highly compelling.
I felt the ending was a bit abrupt, but it suits the story and its reflection on society and human nature. I believe I only found it jarring because it is so different from what I'm used to reading or seeing in movies.
All in all, a wonderfully-woven noir tale that kept me flipping pages long after I should have put the Kindle down and gone to bed. I'm looking forward to reading more from JD Mader.
Rating: 4 stars
Joe the Art of Coffee, Columbia University, W 120th St (Broadway) by Arancia Project on Flickr.