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Review of Mudd’s Luck. T S O’Neil.
The title refers to the doctor who treated Lincoln’s assassin and neatly ties the loose ends of the story at the end of the book. The story revolves around a father and son who have been the wrong side of the law on several occasions, leading to several scrapes and now, due to an unforeseen accident, the targets of a villainous and prolific assassin. The story proceeds with the inevitable chase of the killer, who is as close to a well-drawn psychopath as you will meet in any thriller. Various minor characters come and go during this fast paced thriller. The locations and sense of timing are well drawn. Some of the conversation is a bit staged; the attempts at the Irish brogue fail badly on occasion.
The story is nothing new but then there are only so many plot-lines on Earth! This plot, however, gallops along and takes you exactly where you would expect, so if you enjoy military-style action, this will not disappoint. The sex is not graphic, unlike some of the violence but as an adult, I have read worse!
The book has about fifteen editing errors, about 15 too many! There are also detailed descriptions of meals and drinks that are simply superfluous; we don’t need to know how to pour a Guinness or how a meal has been prepared. Too many authors do it, and Mr O’Neil is also guilty of this bad habit, although not prolifically so!
All in all, I enjoyed this book and read it in two long sittings, always a good sign. With a good editor and just a few deletions this would have been a five star thriller. Because of the errors and the frequent confusion I struggled through with the rapid changes of POV in the middle of chapters, even within paragraphs, I have to deduct a star, sadly. I suspect the author was interrupted a few too many times and lost the flow. A good editor would have pointed these errors out to him.