Monday, September 14, 2020

Hades by Candice Fox

First Line: As soon as the stranger set the bundle on the floor, Hades could tell it was the body of a child.

Homicide detective Frank Bennett is the new kid on the block, and he doesn't really know what to make of his new partner and her brother who is also on the Sydney police force. Eden is beautiful, intelligent, cold, efficient, and very, very distant. Her brother, Eric, is a monumental pain in the neck who thrives on trying to make Frank's life a misery.

But when a large underwater graveyard filled with large steel toolboxes is discovered, all the attention rightfully shifts to finding the killer. For Eden and Eric, the investigation takes them back to their traumatic childhood and the murderer who raised them. For Frank, the case is going to bring him face to face with evil... and the knowledge that no one is truly innocent.

I've been aware of author Candice Fox for a while now but had never read one of her books. When a fellow reader mentioned this series of books featuring Sydney, Australia, homicide detectives Eden Archer and Frank Bennett, I decided to try it out with this first book. I enjoy reading Australian crime fiction, and although there isn't much Aussie flavor to Fox's story, the occasional mention of frangipani trees and flying foxes napping in fig trees were enough to transport my mind's eye to the land down under. 

What Fox really excelled in as far as Hades' setting goes is her chilling descriptions of two of the serial killer's body dump sites. Although neither graphic nor gruesome, those descriptions made my blood run cold. I really love it when writers can make me break out in goosebumps without drowning scenes in buckets of gore. 

It took me a long time to warm up to Frank Bennett, the man who tells us what's going on. He's needy. He becomes fascinated with Eden, originally because she's so pretty (yawn) but then the fascination grows when he realizes that there's something not quite right about Eden and her brother Eric. It took time, but I did warm up to Bennett finally when I learned about his relationship with an elderly man after chasing a burglar out of the man's house. That was the tipping point for me.

There were a couple of secondary characters whose deaths were inevitable, and I did find the serial killer (dubbed "The Body Snatcher" by the media) to be over the top and not really believable, but the linchpin of Hades is Eden Archer. When she was five, she and her brother were kidnapped, left for dead, and then raised by a fixer-- a killer for hire who "fixed" other criminals' problems. When Hades realizes what young Eden and Eric are doing in their spare time, he ensures that the two will use their skills only for good, and in this, it's impossible not to compare Eden Archer to Jeff Lindsay's Dexter. This comparison has everything to do with my reaction to this book. 

I read the first Dexter Morgan book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and appreciated the author's originality and writing style. I thought it was a well-written, absorbing book. But. (You knew that was coming, didn't you?) I never read another book in the series. There's something about someone taking the law into his or her own hands that offends me even when the person is taking vicious criminals off the streets permanently. Consequently, I have the same problem with Eden Archer, and although I did find the story compelling, I'm satisfied with reading just one. The good news is that I have the first book in Candice Fox's other series waiting to be read. I look forward to Crimson Lake because one thing I know for sure is that I like the way this author writes.


Hades by Candice Fox

eISBN: 9780786040704

Pinnacle Books © 2017

eBook, 325 pages

 

Police Procedural, #1 Archer & Bennett mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

10 comments:

  1. I want to read Candice Fox, too, Cathy, and I've heard that Crimson Lake is very good. I hope you'll enjoy that one when you get to it. You make such a well-taken point, too, about an author who can make your blood run cold without relying on gore to do it. I respect that in an author; I really do. Sounds like there's an interesting look at psychology here.

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  2. Although I've seen her name as a favorite of some bloggers, I've never read anything by her. I'm going to have to give her a try.

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    1. I know that I'm looking forward to Crimson Lake.

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  3. OK, I loved reading your thoughts on this book and this author. She's one that I've meant to read too (seems there are lots of us - right?). I don't think I knew about this series, but one of our mystery book group mentioned that he'd really enjoyed Crimson Lake. And then another member talked about trying it at the meeting after that and he recommended it. It's on my list. I think I'll skip this one, because my feelings are much the same as yours regarding Dexter. I didn't read one of the books, but I watched an episode of the TV show. Nope. I can't get on board with vigilante justice. I know it's sometimes a fine line, but I like the protagonists not to cross it if possible.

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  4. That really does sound much like the Dexter books. I had a mixed reaction to the Dexter character and the premise of the books. I thought the books were mediocre at best, and way over the top, so I only read two of them before giving up. But I had a completely different reaction to the HBO series based on the character. That, I thought, was really well done, and I found myself sympathetic toward Dexter and his uncontrollable urge to kill. It just seemed more real on film for some reason - and it didn't hurt that the actor playing Dexter was so likable. But what a dark series...

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    1. Yes, it is dark. I tried watching the TV series but couldn't get interested in it either, although I agree with you that Dexter is more palatable on film than in print.

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  5. I did exactly the same thing with the first Dexter novel! I've had Fox on my (ever-growing) list for a while now, so it's good to learn about the quality of her writing. I'll be likely to choose Crimson Lake, though.

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