Shaken by J. A. Konrath

Shaken

by J.A. Konrath
Paperback, 262 pages
AmazonEncore, 2011

There are three stories told in the penultimate Jack Daniels novel: one told shortly after the events in Cherry Bomb, one that takes place three years earlier, and the last that takes place 18 years before that. Now, given that I knew Jack would survive all three stories between that timeline (not being a time traveler, she obviously couldn’t die 21 years before current events) and the fact that I read this a year after the followup novel were written — you’d think I’d be able to kick back and let the novel play out.

Nope, not even close — I was on the edge of my seat from the get-go. How Konrath pulled that off, I don’t know — don’t really care, either.

In the oldest storyline — Jack’s still sporting her maiden name and is a fairly new cop working prostitution stings — with her partner, Harry McGlade — which lead to her being enlisted in a undercover operation for Homicide — and almost getting killed by a real psycho.

A bit more current, Jack and Herb are trying to prevent the murder of a child by a legendary serial killer, who they think they’re about to catch after years of people all over the country hunting him down.

The most recent story starts off with Jack kidnapped — she fell asleep in her bed next to Phin, and awakens in a dark room, bound, with no one around. But there’s a clock counting down how long she has left to live — and it ain’t long.

Last week, I talked a little bit about my problems with prequels. The storyline 20+ years old really serves as a prequel to the series — and has all the shortcomings of them — inside jokes, heavy haded bits about how no one will need a mobile phone in the future, how Jack plans to upgrade her car (she’s still driving it currently), Herb’s legendary metabolism, etc. Some of these jokes I did enjoy — the more subtle ones, mostly. Still, as always, Konrath knows when to lighten up on the humor and apply the suspense — and he does it very successfully in each story.

I’ve seen some reader reviews here and there complaining that the ending’s a bit too deus ex machina — and I think you can make that case. Still, I disagree sequel ex machina? Sure, I’ll buy that — it was all about setting up the next installment of the series. And given how effective the rest of the novel really was — I’ll give Konrath a pass on that.

A lot of laughs, some good twists, many nails bitten — a great read. This, in so many ways, is not the place to start with this series, go back to the beginning, with Whiskey Sour and jump on there. But if you’ve been sticking with Jack, this is a great addition.

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