Review: The Quarry by Stan Grimes
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Summary
Dante Dunham is a starving young writer barely making ends meet. His mother passed away long before he graduated from college and his father just happened to be the richest man in his hometown. Johnson Meredith did not take part in Dante’s upbringing and offered no assistance to the boy’s mother.
Dante is shocked, however, when he is told that he has inherited half of his estranged father’s estate. Upon learning of his future wealth Dante also learns that the other half of the estate was bequeathed to a sinister man, John Butcher.
Butcher is greedy and seeks to murder young Dante in order to grab the entire inheritance, and hires an assassin to take the young man out. “The Quarry" takes the reader on a long chase from Lincoln’s Port, Indiana to Key West, Florida. A showdown in Key West is inevitable with a surprising end…
Review
Stan Grimes created an intricate series of which includes an elaborate mystery and suspense in his story, The Quarry. Since the reader is all knowing and receives the point of view and thought process of multiple characters, it is effortless to predict many of the events that transpire. The mystery is geared more towards the characters and how they deal with such events.
The reader may be able to assume many of the happenings throughout the story, but we are always kept on the edge of our seats. The characters emotions are also known, but their unpredictable and unstable personalities keep the way they will deal with certain events a mystery.
I loved the use of psychological disabilities throughout this story. I find reading about this abnormalities fascinating and they truly do add to the overall feel of the book. These disabilities can be used to understand and describe many of the characters behaviors. Schizophrenia is one that I personally find intriguing due to the many different levels. Specifically in this story, one character suffers from what can be called multiple personality disorder. As the reader, we get to experience the inner workings of the characters mind and witness firsthand the ‘voices’ within his head.
Towards the beginning of the story I was quite annoyed with only one element; the amount of swearing. I understand the need to authenticate the male characters and give them a masculine feel, but I felt it was a little too much. Swearing in novels is not typically a deal breaker, and it certainly was not within this story. Grimes began to reduce the number of curse words and the frustration with them diminished. Such a small complaint for such a thrilling story.
One element that was surprising but considerably pleasing, was the addition of a fantastical element. I do not wish to give it away and ruin the wonderful surprise, but towards the end of the story, I was completely thrown off guard by the fantastic element. I love when a book can add a little detail no one was expecting and this one is no exception. I found that it really helped to accelerate the plot and continue with the feeling of suspense.
The length of this story comes with no complaints from me. I found it to be in perfect harmony with the plot, allowing just enough time to develop characters and the story line, but short enough not to drag it out. While a fairly quick read, it is worth the time if you find your passion to be for suspense and a little mystery.
Reviewed by Rachel Keane
Book Information
Publisher: Stan Grimes
Publication date: 1/18/2014
eBook
