I received a digital & audio copy for Rockstar Book Tours via Union Square & Co. and RB Media. All reviews are my own.
Do you know what's great about being a mood reader? I'll never tire of jumping into a new atmosphere of themes and genres. One minute, I'm checking out a Fantasy book with a complex magical system; the next, we're doing suspenseful heists with the world's best safecrackers and code breakers! I love eclectic reading. This week, I had a chance to check out a debut from Jesse DeRoy entitled Safecracker. Now, this isn't an Ocean's story (actually, I wouldn't know. Those Ocean's movies bore me to death, so if there is a similarity, I missed it completely). Still, after reading about a job gone wrong resulting in the Political Alphabet people gunning after Grantchester "Duke" Ducaine, I wouldn't mind delving into the world of corruption and stealing.
"Grantchester “Duke" Ducaine was born and raised a thief, so working the straight and narrow the last two years has felt like surfing without water. His dad is in the pen and his sister is . . . well, Duke doesn’t like to think about all of the things that are his fault. He’s got more pressing problems, like a bookie who wants to break his thumbs, and a couple of possibly shady Feds who want him to break into an unbreakable safe. When Duke agrees to take the job, thinking he might have the answer to his problems, he discovers that some things are best left unopened."
I experienced this story via audio with Dan John Miller. He tackled this 10-hour and 48-minute narration with wit, energy, and the gusto to carry this story. In a few parts of the audio, I did notice a difference in sound, as if they punched in a few sentences that had to be redone, but other than that, I liked Miller as a suspense narrator.
When I joined this book tour, I thought I was getting a Young Adult version of this story. I was completely wrong, but I got my satisfaction from the childlike behavior of the main character, Grantchester "Duke" Ducaine, the young, best safecracker in the region and worst gambler ever. But understand that this book is complete with adult material. There's a lot of mob enforcement, bullets flying, and knife work throughout the story. The action was intense and satisfying to hear.
Even though I loved the characters and action sequences, I had mixed feelings about the overall story. Nothing about it that was memorable stuck out to me. Case in point: I had a couple of coworkers come up to me and ask what the last book I finished reading was, and for the life of me, I could not remember this title or anything about it. I don't often read Thrillers/Suspense books sans Amanda Jayatissa and Yasmin Angoe, so we can take that with a grain of salt.
Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. It was a promising debut for DeRoy. The chapters were short and sweet, and the plot wasn't too political. If you can, check out the audio; Miller was excellent. I would have loved to see more safecracking since Duke deems himself one of the best out there, but since this looks like it will be a series, I'm sure we'll see more code-breaking in the future.
Safecracker is available now!
Giveaway Details
One (1) winner will receive a finished copy of Safecracker. The giveaway is open to US residents only and ends November 26th at midnight EST.
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