Författarbild

James Dalessandro (–1948)

Författare till 1906: A Novel

7 verk 261 medlemmar 14 recensioner

Verk av James Dalessandro

Taggad

Allmänna fakta

Avled
1948-09-03
Kön
male
Nationalitet
USA
Födelseort
Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Medlemmar

Recensioner

Crime Noire. Bisschen flach aber entertaining.
 
Flaggad
kakadoo202 | Jul 9, 2023 |
New Take on the 'Quake

This book is about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It tells the primary story from the perspective of a female opera critic and journalist and follows other stories of people who had the misfortune to end up in San Francisco right before the quake. The book was fast paced and held my interest. It was an attempt to correct some misconceptions about the event. While not 100 percent historically accurate (as acknowledged by the author), it adhered to the spirit of the era, combining some real people into one and inserting fictional characters to support the storyline. It was an enjoyable reading experience. If you like historical fiction, I recommend it. The book is also going to be the subject of a movie soon, so it will be interesting to see how it is adapted.… (mer)
 
Flaggad
Castlelass | 10 andra recensioner | Oct 30, 2022 |
When I borrowed this book from Overdrive I thought it was going to be entirely about the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. I was a bit surprised when the story opened with an arts correspondent and a fledgling cop. For a moment, I thought I had borrowed the wrong book. But I was hooked fast.

Dalessandro opens by introducing us to a web of characters convening in San Francisco. With so many different personalities involved, it would have been easy to get lost. Dalessandro wove the multiple perspectives perfectly. We learn about the deep lines of corruption in government early in the book, and these villains follow into the disaster. It was so good.

Each character is well developed and interesting. I particularly liked the bright-eyed Kaitlin and fearless Annalisa. These two girls never needed rescuing, and bless her - Annalisa ran all across the city helping with the rescue operations in a ballgown and jewels. The variety of characters made the story rich and gave life to San Francisco at the turn of the century. I loved them all - from the little Chinese girl sold as a slave to the bellowing opera singer. Each person has been careful researched, carefully selected, and add a unique perspective to the city.

Instead of falling into the chaos of the disaster, Dalessandro follows Hunter and Annalisa as they track the villains, determined to both save their city and make sure justice is served. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but I will say this: the plot surged forward even at opportunities to fall into chaos. I was just as anxious to see the fire put out as to see the murderer caught.

The fire is where Dalessandro shines. Scenes of the rescue efforts are sharp and engulfing. He finds the perfect balance between detail and pacing. There is a particular scene near the end of the story where Hunter and Annalisa are trapped in a burning building - the writing is so vivid you can practically feel the heat. He has carefully constructed everything from the opera house to the waterfront... Delssandro is a world-building master.

This books was not what I expected, but I deeply enjoyed it. The only real complaint I can offer is that the audio recording I listened to was fairly poor quality - there was an echo to the speech that was distracting and annoying. Otherwise, this was a compelling story. There is child trafficking, attempted rape, and considerable violence - none of it is detailed, but it is there to illustrate the corruption of the city at the turn of the century.
… (mer)
 
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Morteana | 10 andra recensioner | Mar 7, 2018 |
This was ok, I guess, but I get the feeling I was meant to fall in love with Jane and admire her resourcefulness and drive. Instead, while she undeniably had some terrible things happen to her, and did respond with drive, I just didn't like her that much, which put me in conflict with the author.

From previous reviews I was expecting a twist that never came (spoiler: the bloke who looks like the killer in like Chapter 1 is the killer to be posted when I get on an actual computer), and I was left with a Hallmark movie of a crime.… (mer)
 
Flaggad
UrbanVariable | Sep 1, 2017 |

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Statistik

Verk
7
Medlemmar
261
Popularitet
#88,099
Betyg
½ 3.5
Recensioner
14
ISBN
11
Språk
2

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