Troy Adami’s book, The Thin Blue Sliver, is a story set in Fort Lauderdale in 2005 about protagonist John Moss, formerly known as the leading homicide detective of the Miami-Dade Police Department. John’s life was twisted upside down when he lost his job, both his parents, wife and partner-in-crime all within the timeframe of 18 months. Ten months later, John is headed on a downward spiral until one day a complete stranger pulls him back down a path of crime he never thought he would go down again.
John Moss is a character who, in the beginning, is very lost and sees no meaning in his life due. His grief has led him to be stuck in a dark hole of alcoholism. Throughout the novel you see John constantly struggle to the resist the urge to drink as he tried to resolve the mysteries in front of him. By the end of the novel, as John is faced with the mistakes and memories of his past, the urge to resist the poison drink becomes progressively easier to the point where it may have saved his life.
Although the storyline is slightly predictable and bland until the halfway point, the mystery of the crime becomes more interesting with gripping plot twists as it gets closer to being solved. It is also humbling to see the protagonist’s personal development throughout the novel as he comes to terms with the hardships of his past.
Although there was some descriptive prose to set the scene, the novel is more character driven. The Australian author has done a good job setting the novel outside of his home country however, making it easy to imagine the American setting of the story.
Overall, the storyline is very good however, if Troy Adami were to make a more elaborate book on John Moss’ life with his wife and life as a detective, I would have been able to delve deeper into his character. That said, I am a reader who prefers reading larger novels with bigger and more intricate story lines. The plot twist toward the end of the book was rather surprising and although a short read, it was a relatively enjoyable one. If you enjoy mystery and crime novels this one is worth a read.
Reviewed by Bonnie Priadko
Rating out of 10: 7
Distributed by: MoshPit Publishing and available through Amazon.com.au
Released: July 2018
RRP: $15.95 paperback, $5.41 eBook
More News
