Dead Barchetta,while a mystery, is really a book for fans of Rush (the rock band, not the talk show host.) I happen to be a Rush fan, so I found this book enjoyable.
Lerxst, our main character, is a member of a Rush cover band. The story begins with Lerxst waking up to someone trying to smother him with a pillow. This begins an unusual journey for Lerxst, involving suicide, running away from home, and uncovering many secrets from the past. The characters and settings in the book are rather flat; the descriptions given are not remarkable or memorable. Some really heavy stuff happens to Lerxst. Some examples: He sees a dead body. He decides to go on the run because he thinks he’s going to be accused of killing someone. He is the victim of a bombing. He has a gun pointed at him. And throughout the entire book, there were no strong emotions, no sense of panic, fear, sadness, nervousness or anything. He seems to just take everything in stride and move along to the next episode of the story. This flatness applies to all the characters.
Lively has created a somewhat complex plot, with many quirky characters, and I was entertained by how it all played out. My favorite parts of the book, however, were the references to Rush and other rock music. For example, a police officer interrogating Lerxst talks about a Rush concert he attended in a certain city, in a certain year. Lerxst knows that this particular concert was cancelled-so there was no way the officer was telling the truth. Side stories about Rush and their songs pepper the story, and for a classic rock fan this adds much to the enjoyment of the book.
Dead Barchetta contains strong language, not overly used, and casual sex, which is not explicit by is tawdry. Therefore, I would recommend this to older teens.
My other recommendation is that the reader is a Rush fan, or at least a classic rock fan who is somewhat familiar with Rush. The rest of the book just doesn’t hold up without this element.
Copy purchased for my Kindle
326 pages
Rating: 2/5
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ReplyDeleteI am dropping over to check out your Debut Author list...I know how it goes. Today was crazy at school and tonight I have a meeting. Ugh.
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-Anne
My Head is Full of Books