THE KILLING GAME

The author sent me a copy of her novel to read and review:

What started out as a somewhat mushy love story slowly turned into a tension filled crime story pitting the FBI against a Mafia Don (Vincent Luca) in an attempted sting operation. How mushy was the love story between our two protagonists: Ives Andrich, head of the New York division of the FBI, and author, Allina Kovar? Do you remember (if you are old enough) the “we can’t keep our hands off each other” schmaltzy TV show, Hart to Hart (1979 to 1984) starring the two lovebirds, Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers? Well, this novel’s romantic duo outdid the TV show’s pair by a landslide, although the Andrich/Kovar love affair got muddled once the sting campaign got underway. Since this novel is 491 pages, can I persevere till the end? Luckily, the author, The Black Rose (that’s her pen name), shifted the story into another gear and came up with a credible and exciting story, but not without some flaws, which I’ll talk about later. I thought the infatuation between Ives and Allina was an important set-up for the novel but lasted a few too many chapters before the attempted sting was in progress. By the way, if you enjoy this novel (I’m sure you will), the series continues with, The Chase and The Lost Days. Okay, let me tell you a little bit about the story...just enough to wet your beak. Do you remember that line from the Mafia Don Fanucci in (I think) the second The Godfather movie?

A man in a library suggest to author Allina Kovar that she should write a book about illegal sports betting. Who is this man? Allina writes a novel, titled The Blood Negotiators. Her normal publisher refuses to publish the book. Why? On a flight to NYC to buy a apartment, she finds herself sitting next to Ives Andrich, a publisher. They both immediately fall in love. She doesn’t know that Ives is FBI. Allina buys an expensive apartment in NYC and Ives publishes her novel. But the FBI bigwigs in Washington, DC believe that she knows the NYC Don Vincent Luca and the contents of her book are real. Ives knows that she knows nothing...it’s just a novel. The pressure is on to cross-examine her and find out the truth. After a night out on the town, Ives and Allina are pulled over and arrested. Allina is sent downtown to be grilled by FBI agent Fogherty, while Ives, who reluctantly knew this was coming down, is uncuffed. Ives observes Fogherty interrogating Allina via the infamous blacked-out window in the next room. Fogherty goes too far and roughs up Allina and exposes Ives as an FBI agent who is duping her. On page 45, Fogherty tells Allina, “He’s standing right behind that mirror over there. He’s been watching you the entire time, laughin’ his ass off.” Why did he do that? Ives goes wacko and has Fogherty dragged out of the room and arrested. When she leaves the room, Ives has no choice but to show her his FBI badge.

Somehow Ives convinces Allina that he has loved her ever since he saw her picture in the FBI file and that he doesn’t care about his career...he only wants to spend the rest of his life with her. After some powerful talking, she believes him and they are lovey-dovey again. But now she is curious about nailing this NYC Don. On page 74, Allina asks, “So what do they (the FBI) want?” Ives says, “They think you can get close to Luca. They know you created the entire story you wrote, but Luca doesn’t know that. Because of what you wrote, he’ll think you understand him, and he’ll want you around. The bureau knows that, and that’s a problem.” By the way, Ives has already infiltrated Luca’s family as a trusted moneyman, so he knows how dangerous Don Luca is. On page 86, Allina shocks Ives by saying, “It can’t be that bad. I told you I would help, and I will.” Can they nail Luca for his illegal sports betting activities and his many killings? What kind of trouble will Allina get into with Luca? Can she avoid his sexual advances? Can the love she has for Ives survive this test? So there you go, I’ve reviewed the first 86 pages of a 491 page novel. The last 300 plus pages are electric and must be read like you were savoring a fine wine. So why am I only giving this novel four stars? Well, my fine-feathered friend, it’s because of the many minor flaws. Okay, Let’s talk about the flaws.

My main beef is the editing...in which the author has to take some blame for since she wrote the novel. It’s customary in the literature world to use italics when someone is thinking something. In this novel they are not used. Instead we have the characters saying everything in quotation marks (or punctuation marks) when really the characters are only thinking, such as, “Oh, lucky me”, She thought. This continues for the entire novel. Is it a big deal? I think so because it’s easier for the reader to know if something is being said or thought if it’s edited properly. Another thing that bothered me was the way Allina continually wise-cracked the Don. What would John Gotti do to her, if she talked to him like that? Also how many times does the author have to write about the breakfast, lunch and dinners Luca and Allina had? The novel would probably be a 100 pages shorter if she only wrote about twenty or more of these repasts. Enough is enough. And finally, every time Luca kisses Allina (which is a lot of times), she has to “fanatically” wipe the kiss off her skin when Luca is not looking. Okay, I know she hates him...stop with the numerous wipes! So as you can see, a lot of things annoyed me, especially the repetitive text...yet I liked the novel. Go figure.
 
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: How funny is it that Andrich Publishing produced Allina Kovar’s fictitious novel and this novel, The Killing Game. Very clever Black Rose or whoever you are. What are you afraid of? What’s your name? Are you also undercover FBI? The days of George Eliot and George Sand are over (Just having some fun). This novel seemed to stretch like a slinky toy with all the repeat facets, but the author picked herself up off the mat by her bootstraps and finished the novel with a flurry.