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Melinda Ott
, March 05, 2015
(view all comments by Melinda Ott)
Let's face it...all readers have that guilty pleasure that they don't want to admit that they read. It might be romance or cheap sci-fi or YA or erotica. For me, it's these Grimm tie-in novels.
Well, to be fair, it is this Grimm tie-in novel. This is the third one to be released and all three novels are standalone (from each other, not fom the show) and have different authors. I will admit that I chose not to read the first, The Icy Touch, because every single review I read all said that it seemed like the author had never seen the show. I did read the second, The Chopping Block, and it was fine. It could be an episode of the show except the subject matter was over the line for network television. But, it left me with a low bar for the third book.
Well, folks, I was surprised with The Killing Time. This is actually a pretty darn good book! Like The Chopping Block, it is set up like an episode of the show, which is a nice little treat when the show is on hiatus. Waggoner stays true to the characters of the book and uses them all (except Adalind, who is--thankfully--absent from the story) very well--better than the show's own writers frequently use the characters. Every one of the major characters--Nick, Hank, Juliette, Renard, Monroe, and Rosalee--have an important part in the plot and come together in a seamless way. Waggoner also created an interesting new Wesen, a shapeshifter suffering from dementia, that I would love to see in an actual episode.
I did have some tiny nitpicks and one major irritation. There were a number of little details that just seemed, well, silly. We're talking a Wesen phone chain and a hug-fest. Really. But, whatever. As I said, I didn't expect art with this. But, here is my irritation--every time a character was introduced, we had to get their entire backstory. This novel is set between the 3rd and 4th episodes of the 3rd season, so there is one heck of a backstory for every. single. character. I felt that it interrupted the narrative and, well, I already knew all of that. I mean, I get it...if someone who has never watched the show read this book, they'd be lost without that. Yet, how many people who have not seen Grimm are reading this book? (In other words, you should be watching Grimm, it's a heck of a show!) I wish all of the backstory recitations had been cut so hat we could just get on with the story.
So, even with those things that rubbed me the wrong way, I found this book a fun, quick read. No, it wasn't literature, but sometimes you just need fun. If you've enjoyed the show, I highly recommend checking out The Killing Time. If you don't watch the show, you should!
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