Comanche

by Brett Riley

set in Comanche, TX and New Orleans, LA, present time

Book Review

Quick review: Comanche is a  macabre and slightly stilted western ghost story.  Overall I found this book to be a fantastical read with low budget horror movie vibes. 

In Depth Review: Comanche is the tale of two private eyes versus a murderous gun slinging ghost. Oh, and the detectives have a psychic side kick (try saying that three times!) Still here?? Okay. You will probably like this book. This was an easy fantastical story, despite some questionable descriptions and horrible analogies (ie: “the mayors face turned deep red, as if someone had chopped his head off and replaced it with the world’s largest beet.” Wait, what???) At some points, I felt as if I were reading a short novella written by an ineloquent, brash high schooler.  There were multiple ‘hold-me-back’ almost fist fights between all of the chest beating male characters, not to mention some weird fascination with dog erections.

There are undertones of promise, especially when referencing New Orleans food, politics and history. I loved all of the food mentioned in the book and can’t wait to try my hand at some Cajun dishes. The writing seemed to mature during the span of the book. Looking back, I think Riley may have been going for a cultural dialect that just came across as undeveloped writing. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and if there is ever an audiobook, I’ll be the first to listen. I think Comanche would highly benefit from a talented narrator with a wide range of character distinction. It does read like a fast paced movie script- I would not be surprised to see this turned into a film. Overall, this just wasn’t my cup of tea but I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a good ghost story (and all high school boys!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my independent and honest review. 

Audiobook Review – Not Available

Book Food Rating

There was a vast array of food options. I lost count of how many cheeseburgers or Dairy Queen steak fries the characters consumed throughout this novel. The saving grace? Real Cajun food from the heart of New Orleans: gumbo, crawfish étouffée, turtle soup, crabmeat omelets….