⇒ [PDF] Punishment A Thriller Detective Barnes Book 1 edition by Scott J Holliday Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Punishment A Thriller Detective Barnes Book 1 edition by Scott J Holliday Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Download As PDF : Punishment A Thriller Detective Barnes Book 1 edition by Scott J Holliday Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Punishment A Thriller Detective Barnes Book 1 edition by Scott J Holliday Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks

Author Scott J. Holliday’s “Punishment” has a lot going for it. It contains a great plot idea wrapped in a mystery/thriller story, nicely helped by talented writing. There are a few elements that bothered me about the book, but none that would cause me to encourage others to leave it on the shelf.

The author’s overall theme, a world where memories are chipped and sold, is not new. However, the twist of using the science as a tool to aid in police investigations is something I haven’t read before (I do recall there was a movie some years back with similarities, but there is plenty of originality in this book that sets it apart). Mr. Holliday spends time educating readers exactly how this science works and even personalizes the machine the detectives use (the main character, John Barnes, hooks up to a machine the department has named “Eddie”). The author is very exact on this science, which is the foundation for the book. His subsequent description of the science and its effects add an additional layer of subtle horror as readers experience the story through Detective Barnes.

The story is neatly packaged, providing the clues left by a psychopathic killer and then leading readers to a realistic ending that neatly ties all the story threads together. The author’s writing is descriptive and entertaining, at times presenting images in a unique way (“…the Barnes brothers’ bedroom looked like a resale shop had barfed in it”). Detailing what is necessary and writing in an engaging manner are two of the author’s five-star efforts.

While it slightly bothered me that a police detective wouldn’t know the proper terminology for his gun (magazine, not clip), it was the author’s excellent description of the science that also served to illuminate a potential flaw in the story. Mr. Holliday is very clear that that memories of the killer’s victims are being built into the host’s brain (the only time the words “…someone else’s consciousness…” are used is in the From the Editor section when she describes the book). It is apparent to readers that something else is going on, but the story never addresses this. Perhaps the author thought it was obvious, but as it was his words that produced the setting for the tale, I hoped he would enlarge upon this element in the storyline. I also thought the relationship with Jessica was a bit forced and could have been embellished, which would have granted her more realism and less appearance as nothing more than a plot device.

Overall, a good blend of scifi and a thriller. “Punishment” is a quick, easy read that was entertaining and enjoyable. Four stars.


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Punishment A Thriller Detective Barnes Book 1 edition by Scott J Holliday Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I read constantly and have my entire life, so I'm not picky about genre. In reading so much, I often find myself jumping ahead to the predicted conclusion with fairly decent accuracy. This story was truly original in a way I haven't experienced in awhile. Loved it. Loved not having a freaking clue what would happen next. Would make an outstanding movie.
I’d actually bump this one up to 3.5 stars. Good solid writing, decent thriller, and pacing was handled well also. There was just something about this book that didn’t sell it all the way for me. This may be the first time I’ve ever said this about a book, instead of the reverse, but I think this would have been better as an episode of Black Mirror or a movie instead of a book. There was a lot of subtle nuance that was missing that adds an element of atmosphere to a good thriller and I feel like the writing was somewhat lacking in that regard. It had all the right parts, and everything added up the way it should, but it just fell short of the atmospheric tenseness and draw in that most thrillers have. All in all, still worth a read.
Look, this isn't a bad book. But if you're between it and an alternative you find appealing, go for door number two. Others have already mentioned that, par for the course in the book's genres, female characters are cardboard cut-outs and the romance is forced.

But the biggest disappointment is that Holliday wastes a compelling sci-fi premise by skipping any world-building. The science is advanced enough and its ethical/social implications substantial and far-reaching enough that this book simply can't be set in our world. The unimaginable differences between 2016 and 2017 alone show that even _our_ world can't be set in our world.

I continually found this issue jarring and whatever it was intended to achieve -- it didn't. It just felt lazy, rushed, and sloppy. You could read any random okay thriller while imagining this technology crammed in there and have about the same experience. But it is an _okay_ random thriller.

Mr. Holliday, if you happen to see this, take a look at The Last Policeman. It's also a speculative thriller in a world much like ours (apart from one Very Big Difference). It has the kind of richly developed world-building I missed in your novel.
The premise of this story is what pulled me in; to retreive memories from crime victims and use them to solve their muder. But what does that do to the person who has to re-live the memories of dying over and over again? John is a great protagonist, flawed and beat-up, and the first meeting with him is not one that endeared me to him. Keep reading. He gets more likeable, especially once he meets Jessica and you begin to understand what it is that drives him. He ends up being more than I expected, and thank you, Mr. Holliday for not ending this on a really bad note. I thought you might and that would have ruined it for me! It's a fast read, griping and rewarding. Hoping there are more books in the series.
This was an fun/addictive read that I couldn't put down. Part of me was worried that it would seem 'gimmicky' when I read the synopsis about a detective and a machine, but I am really glad I looked past that to give it a go. I was about 30 pages in when I got to a point that I couldn't put it down and just powered through the whole thing! It's pretty intense in parts and was pretty grueling but I couldn't stop until I knew what happened. I was worried about the ending as I've read some duds, in terms of endings, recently. Bad and rushed endings of books can really ruin a book for me. Additionally, since it's a part of a series I thought it might be one of those super-long waits for the resolution of a stressful cliffhanger (I also don't like those). However, it was actually a really satisfying conclusion with an interesting twist. I can't wait to read the next one.
Author Scott J. Holliday’s “Punishment” has a lot going for it. It contains a great plot idea wrapped in a mystery/thriller story, nicely helped by talented writing. There are a few elements that bothered me about the book, but none that would cause me to encourage others to leave it on the shelf.

The author’s overall theme, a world where memories are chipped and sold, is not new. However, the twist of using the science as a tool to aid in police investigations is something I haven’t read before (I do recall there was a movie some years back with similarities, but there is plenty of originality in this book that sets it apart). Mr. Holliday spends time educating readers exactly how this science works and even personalizes the machine the detectives use (the main character, John Barnes, hooks up to a machine the department has named “Eddie”). The author is very exact on this science, which is the foundation for the book. His subsequent description of the science and its effects add an additional layer of subtle horror as readers experience the story through Detective Barnes.

The story is neatly packaged, providing the clues left by a psychopathic killer and then leading readers to a realistic ending that neatly ties all the story threads together. The author’s writing is descriptive and entertaining, at times presenting images in a unique way (“…the Barnes brothers’ bedroom looked like a resale shop had barfed in it”). Detailing what is necessary and writing in an engaging manner are two of the author’s five-star efforts.

While it slightly bothered me that a police detective wouldn’t know the proper terminology for his gun (magazine, not clip), it was the author’s excellent description of the science that also served to illuminate a potential flaw in the story. Mr. Holliday is very clear that that memories of the killer’s victims are being built into the host’s brain (the only time the words “…someone else’s consciousness…” are used is in the From the Editor section when she describes the book). It is apparent to readers that something else is going on, but the story never addresses this. Perhaps the author thought it was obvious, but as it was his words that produced the setting for the tale, I hoped he would enlarge upon this element in the storyline. I also thought the relationship with Jessica was a bit forced and could have been embellished, which would have granted her more realism and less appearance as nothing more than a plot device.

Overall, a good blend of scifi and a thriller. “Punishment” is a quick, easy read that was entertaining and enjoyable. Four stars.