Luxembourg and The Jenisch Connection by David Robinson (reviewed by Samantha_kathy)

Here's my review for this book. Touchstone is not working for this book, sorry. I gave it 1.5 stars and the review is not posted yet, I will do so after editing it after your critique.

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Luxembourg and the Jenisch Connection by David Robinson

Jason Evans is on holiday in Luxembourg visiting his brother Shaun, when he witnesses a young, blond woman committing suicide. His need to know why she did it and a telephone number on a pink piece of paper get him involved in the case, which turns out to be so much more than a simple suicide.

At the same time, Detective Ernie Meyer is looking into the suicide as well. He made a mistake on a case years ago, effectively derailing his career. Neatly wrapping up this case could get his career back on track, but what starts out as a seemingly simple suicide turns into a case that crosses borders. The stakes turn out to be much higher than just saving his career.

Have you ever read a story that had so much potential, but could use a lot of editing? This is such a story. The writing was awful at times, with very stilted prose and a lot of telling instead of showing. David Robinson’s descriptions of the setting are great though, which is understandable as he lived in Luxembourg for a couple of years. What also annoyed me greatly was the random shifting between viewpoints. Often you were in the head of one character, then suddenly for a sentence or two in the head of another character. This was confusing and weird.

The plot was intriguing, with each clue providing more questions than answers and several things going on at the same time. As a reader you know more than each of the characters do, because you know the information Meyers found and the information Jason found, which overlaps sometimes, but they also hold separate pieces of the puzzle. I thought the two different viewpoints complimented each other. However, the switches between scenes with Meyer and Jason were frequent, even within relatively short chapters, which I didn’t like. It made for a choppy story, that sometimes felt more like a collection of scenes than a continuous story.

This feeling of choppiness was exacerbated by the fact that there were a lot of pointless scenes. An example of this is the fact that seemingly every time the scenes switched to Meyer, he began checking his e-mails. There was also a lot of realistic, but pointless conversation about weather and traffic that I could have done without.

All of this combined made for a lot of frustration during reading sometimes, but the plot was intriguing enough for me not to put the book down. The ending, where all threads came together, could have made up for a lot. The whole book you’re building towards something big, only to be let down in the end. There are at least three different plot threads that are left hanging, with only one minor one being dealt with at the end. The book ends with the words “and the story continues…”, but David Robinson has not written a sequel to this. So as a reader, I am highly dissatisfied with this book and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Sorry it took so long to respond. Overall I like the content, just a bunch of small stuff.

1st para
pink piece of paper get him involved in the case, which turns out to be so much more than a simple suicide.

2nd para
you use 'case' and 'career' 3 times each

3rd para
David Robinson’s descriptions of the setting are great though, which is understandable as he lived in Luxembourg for a couple of years.

maybe

David Robinson’s descriptions of Luxembourg are great, which is understandable as he lived there for a couple of years.

What also annoyed me greatly

4th para
know the information Meyers found and the information Jason found, which overlaps sometimes

6th para
All of this combined made for a lot of frustration during reading sometimes, but the plot was intriguing enough for me not to put the book down to continue.

Thank you for the comments. Here's the revised review:

Jason Evans is on holiday in Luxembourg visiting his brother Shaun, when he witnesses a young, blond woman committing suicide. His need to know why she did it and a telephone number on a pink piece of paper get him involved, which turns out to be more than a simple suicide.

At the same time, Detective Ernie Meyer is looking into the suicide as well. He made a mistake on a case years ago, effectively derailing his career. Neatly wrapping up this investigation could get it back on track, but what starts out as a seemingly simple suicide turns into a complex web of crimes that crosses borders. The stakes turn out to be much higher than just saving his career.

Have you ever read a story that had so much potential, but could use a lot of editing? This is such a story. The writing was awful at times, with very stilted prose and a lot of telling instead of showing. David Robinson’s descriptions of Luxembourg are great, which is understandable as he lived there for a couple of years. What annoyed me greatly was the random shifting between viewpoints. Often you were in the head of one character, then suddenly for a sentence or two in the head of another character. This was confusing and weird.

The plot was intriguing, with each clue providing more questions than answers and several things going on at the same time. As a reader you know more than each of the characters do, because you know the information Meyers and Jason found, which overlaps sometimes, but they also hold separate pieces of the puzzle. I thought the two different viewpoints complimented each other. However, the switches between scenes with Meyer and Jason were frequent, even within relatively short chapters, which I didn’t like. It made for a choppy story, that sometimes felt more like a collection of scenes than a continuous story.

This feeling of choppiness was exacerbated by the fact that there were a lot of pointless scenes. An example of this is the fact that seemingly every time the scenes switched to Meyer, he began checking his e-mails. There was also a lot of realistic, but pointless conversation about weather and traffic that I could have done without.

All of this combined made for a lot of frustration during reading, but the plot was intriguing enough for me to continue. The ending, where all threads came together, could have made up for a lot. The whole book you’re building towards something big, only to be let down in the end. There are at least three different plot threads that are left hanging, with only one minor one being dealt with at the end. The book ends with the words “and the story continues…”, but David Robinson has not written a sequel to this. So as a reader, I am highly dissatisfied with this book and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Much better!

If you don't mind a little more:

Second paragraph, first sentence: The beginning reads funny to me. I would replace At the same time with 'Meanwhile' or maybe Detective Ernie Meyer is also looking

In the third paragraph, the fourth sentence (David Robinson’s descriptions of Luxembourg are great...) feels out of place. The paragraph starts out critical, then there's a positive bit and then it's back to criticism.

The sentence definitely belongs in the review, but maybe in a different place.

I'm never going to mind more constructive criticism! I changed it a bit, perhaps this reads better?

Jason Evans is on holiday in Luxembourg visiting his brother Shaun, when he witnesses a young, blond woman committing suicide. His need to know why she did it and a telephone number on a pink piece of paper get him involved, which turns out to be more than a simple suicide.

Meanwhile, Detective Ernie Meyer is looking into the suicide as well. He made a mistake on a case years ago, effectively derailing his career. Neatly wrapping up this investigation could get it back on track, but what starts out as a seemingly simple suicide turns into a complex web of crimes that crosses borders. The stakes turn out to be much higher than just saving his career.

Have you ever read a story that had so much potential, but could use a lot of editing? This is such a story. The writing was awful at times, with very stilted prose and a lot of telling instead of showing. What annoyed me the most was the random shifting between viewpoints. Often you were in the head of one character, then suddenly for a sentence or two in the head of another character. This was confusing and weird.

One of the good things about the book was David Robinson’s descriptions of Luxembourg. They are great, which is understandable as he lived there for a couple of years. The plot was intriguing, with each clue providing more questions than answers and several things going on at the same time. As a reader you know more than each of the characters do, because you know the information Meyers and Jason found, which overlaps sometimes, but they also hold separate pieces of the puzzle. I thought the two different viewpoints complimented each other. However, the switches between scenes with Meyer and Jason were frequent, even within relatively short chapters, which I didn’t like. It made for a choppy story, that sometimes felt more like a collection of scenes than a continuous story.

This feeling of choppiness was exacerbated by the fact that there were a lot of pointless scenes. An example of this is the fact that seemingly every time the scenes switched to Meyer, he began checking his e-mails. There was also a lot of realistic, but pointless conversation about weather and traffic that I could have done without.

All of this combined made for a lot of frustration during reading, but the plot was intriguing enough for me to continue. The ending, where all threads came together, could have made up for a lot. The whole book you’re building towards something big, only to be let down in the end. There are at least three different plot threads that are left hanging, with only one minor one being dealt with at the end. The book ends with the words “and the story continues…”, but David Robinson has not written a sequel to this. So as a reader, I am highly dissatisfied with this book and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.