“Does Rico always find trouble, or does trouble just come searching!”
- Book: Rico Stays (Pigeon-Blood Red #3)
- Location: Chicago
- Author: Ed Duncan
This is the third and supposedly final part of the Pigeon – Blood red trilogy, although each book is a neatly self- contained unit, which can be read as a stand alone story. Yes! there is a backstory which lies in the background of all three books and draws them together into a series, however the author does an amazing job of filling in the pertinent details at just the right time, so that the continuity of the story and the narrative are never compromised. I never felt that I was missing out on anything, even if I hadn’t read all three books in double quick time, as the series grabbed me and soundly sucked me in!
As the result of a seemingly innocent accident, Rico is back in the action, which kicks in right from the first few pages and continues on relentlessly throughout the book, although there are plenty of short ‘down time’ moments, when I could examine the characters more closely, as they interacted with one another, before yet another incident kicked off and it was ‘back to business’ as usual! The ending was as I like them to be, decisive and conclusive, although Ed cleverly managed to combine that finality, with just enough glimmers of hope that ‘normal service’ might be resumed in the future, as these two couples from very different sides of the track, yet more alike than they had realised before, vow to remain arms-length friends.
The by now compelling and familiar format of the storyline, which is both equally plot and character driven, blends Rico’s self-styled form of justice and unwritten code of ethics, which will always only ever see him accept a contract on someone he deems to be worthy of dying, with his desire to keep all that he holds dear, safe and never to target directly, or indirectly involve anyone he sees as vulnerable, unless his back is so far up against the wall, for it to be an unavoidable circumstance. He tries his best to avoid collateral damage, but accepts that as one of the shortcomings of his volatile lifestyle.
The mature narrative and dialogue was always relevant, crisp and clean and kept everything moving along at a pace, whilst at the same time, the great use of visual language and descriptive words, drew me in so that I was always part of the intense action and right there at the scene, as the bullets were flying all around and the bodies piled up! I never needed to take time out to try and work out who did what, to who, why and when. I only needed to decide who was going to make it out alive to fight another day and who was hopefully going to get what they deserved!
Ed has manufactured a great cast of four complex and dynamic central characters, who for all their differences in ethics and life experiences, gel so well together as a team. I think that all the way through the series, they have each uncovered their own vulnerabilities and have individually been searching for a sense of belonging, however with the closing of this final case, the synergy between them has been so strong, that they have each discovered a purpose to their lives, which may re-define them in some small way.
Rico, with his fascinating contradiction of traits, is learning that he doesn’t need to be a loner all his life, although the very nature of his job means that is sometimes an inevitable consequence. He is learning to give as well as to take, although I get the feeling that he will never change his lifestyle completely, as it is all he knows and he is good at it, so he realises that he cannot afford to become too soft, or he will not be able to operate at his best, making him vulnerable, which may ultimately put his own life and that of others, in danger! He is definitely an anti-hero, who even against my better judgement, morals and ethics, I have in a strange way, come to connect with, like and admire.
In a recent Guest Post, published at Fiction Books, author Ed Duncan revealed that he has already written three screenplays with corresponding storylines to those in each of the books in this amazing trilogy.
If Ed can now only be persuaded that a trilogy is not nearly enough coverage for the excellent characters and storylines he has created, then the series definitely lends itself amazingly well to being optioned for a television series, with accompanying feature film!
So Ed, if you are listening to your readers! …
Please wait...
