It’s not often I speak badly of a book that I’ve read (and believe me, over the years I’ve read A LOT), but I just have to come out and say it; I really, really disliked The November Criminals.
Here’s the story outline: Addison, a rather odd loner figure, has no friends and subsequently, not much of a social So after the murder of a classmate, he decides to become his own version of Sherlock Holmes (as you do) and investigate. To do this, he partners up with Digger, who, just for the record, IS NOT his girlfriend. And, as if he wasn’t occupied enough with that, just because he can, he’s also a drug dealer – one who does it not for the money, but more for the thrill.
Is he annoying you yet?
To me, Addison comes across as pretentious. To my mind, it’s almost as if all the bad things he’s gone through in his life are epic disasters compared to those of others while his constant spouting of Latin phrases and other pointless ramblings did my head in. The story as a whole had no real consistency and the lack of punctuation on some pages, notably those with lots of dialogue, made my eyes go funny.
The November Criminals has, on more than one occasion, been compared to works such as The Catcher In The Rye – I can almost wholeheartedly assure you J.D. Salinger’s classic is far better than this.
I honestly couldn’t wait to be done with this book – I even put off going to sleep so I could read it in one sitting and get it over and done with. I have no doubt that there are plenty of readers who will love it and disagree with every word I’ve written here and that’s fine, but for me, this is one title I’m glad to see the back of – sorry Sam.
The November Criminals is available now on Amazon and from all good bookshops.
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