Review The Secret Friends

The Secret Friends - Perawan Suci Maria, Kidung Kematian & Eksekusi Termanis Wanita Pujaan (Darby McCormick #2)

by Chris Mooney

Sesosok jasad wanita kembali ditemukan mengambang di dermaga Boston, setelah beberapa bulan sebelumnya jasad dengan ciri luka fisik yang sama juga ditemukan di sana. Bagian belakang kepala keduanya bocor, dan di saku mereka masing-masing ditemukan patung Perawan Suci Maria.

Darby McCormick, detektif CSI, ditugaskan memimpin penyelidikan kasus yang menjadi sorotan publik tersebut karena salah satu korbannya adalah anak dari konglomerat Boston, Jonathan Hale. Ternyata, bukan hanya Darby yang tertarik dengan kasus itu. Malcolm Fletcher, matan agen FBI yang kini menjadi buronan, ternyata juga sedang memburu si pembunuh.

Kini Darby harus berpacu dengan Malcolm untuk dapat menemukan si pembunuh terlebih dahulu. Dan Darby tidak tahu siapa yang harus lebih dipercayainya, apakah Malcolm yang mengaku sebagai Dark Justice atau rekannya sendiri yang terungkap telah menggelapkan barang bukti...

Dastan Books 2010

Saya: Ini salah satu buku bagus yang diberi Obral sampe harganya tinggal Rp 15.000. Sungguh beruntung mendapatkan buku2 dengan genre kriminal-ritual-agamis seperti ini dengan harga murah. Seperti kebanyakan novel tulisan orang Amerika-Eropa dengan genre ini, maka biasanya kisahnya seputar tindak kriminal pembunuhan. Adapun pembunuhan itu mempunyai visi dan misi, semacam maksud yang hendak dicapai, semacam ritual untuk memperkenalkan sesuatu.

Yang menarik--dan sering klise--adalah korbannya cenderung gadis, yang kemungkinan masih perawan. Dalam TSF ini gadis2 itu menghilang ketika pulang dari suara atau tempat. Dicurigai diculik oleh seorang lelaki kuat yang menyekap dan membunuh mereka dengan rapih sehingga polisi tidak mendapatkan bukti, sidik, dan dugaan pelakunya.

Yang menggetarkan adalah penemuan patung Perawan Marian dalam saku yang dijahit pada baju korban. Apakah pelaku terobsesi pada Perawan? Atau pelaku melakukan ritual sesat? Siapa yang bisa menduga, hati dan pikiran begitu luas. Betapa berbahayanya dengan tidak kritis, bahkan cenderung fanataik dan dibutakan oleh teks yang ditulis oleh keterbatasan tangan dan pikiran manusia.

Klise: simbol2 Kristen sering dijadikan novel yang menghebohkan dan menarik perhatian sehi laku keras, dengan dalil yang bisa benar bisa keliru: membuka mata dunia pada sejarah pada sisi lain. Tapi bagaimana pun, sebagai karya sastra, TSF telah berhasil menghibur pembaca dan memberikan sumbangan tersendiri untuk sastra dan pengetahuan dunia.

Keri: Very good book. Very intense. Darby McCormick is called to a special CSI task force to try and solve a couple of murders of young women. Darby is suddenly thrust into a place where she is not quite sure whom her enemies or friends really are except for her crush buddy Coop. Chris Mooney is a very talented writer and I think is under-appreciated.

Karen: THE SECRET FRIEND is a contemporary American crime fiction thriller. A serial killer with their own desperate and cruel background. A religious element. A corrupt ex-FBI agent. A bad cop. And a CSI - Darby McCormick - as the central protagonist. Darby is pulled into the case of Emma Hale and finds herself up against a lot of things. There's the lack of evidence or an explanation for why somebody would have snatched Emma, kept her alive for months, and then killed her. There's Emma's powerful and wealthy father who wants answers enough to run his own investigation. There's the second student dead in similar circumstances and it's obvious that this killer is not going to stop unless he's caught. There's the either incompetent or corrupt police force that haven't been able to solve the case. There's a pushy and politically motivated senior officer. And finally, there's the lurking presence of the FBI agent gone bad - the vigilante fugitive from law, taking the law into his own hands.

THE SECRET FRIEND may appeal to a particular type of reader. Fans or believers in CSI's actively investigating cases and those interested in the "technical wizardry" that goes along with crime scene analysis. There are certainly snippets of technical information sprinkled through the book which show the depth of the research or knowledge that went into the writing. To help widen the possible appeal, you've got all these other elements built in - the rogue FBI guy with the astounding connections - inexplicably one step ahead of the cops and Darby all the way; the corrupt cop; the serial killer who may just engender sympathy in some readers; the lurking presence of the closed down institution - where all too many horrible events could have occurred.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this book doesn't appeal to many readers, but for me it was too much. Whilst it was competently written, the main sub-plot, the rogue ex-FBI agent, just didn't work for me and as he got more and more focus, I got less and less interested. The serial killer's motivations and behaviour seemed to have some potential, but they don't remain the main focus of the book and kept getting lost in the other sub-plots and the snippets of forensic information that were packed in.

Mary: Back to reading Chris Mooney, the second of his series, the first one "The Missing" was very enjoyable, so now I have a new series, C.S.I. (C.S.U.) Darby McCormick. Two students (female) have been abducted, one kept for 6 months, then shot and dumped in the river and Darby is called in to a new specialised unit C.S.U. and asked to lead the investigation by the under-pressure Commissioner. Another student is soon abducted and the race is on to find her before the killer strikes again. There's a religious nut, a very creepy ex-F.B.I. profiler and a former sprawling ruin of an Asylum thrown in for good measure. I liked it, and it's got a few books in the series, which is always good. Just started the next one, so I'm all set for tonight.

Heidi: I don't give out the 5 stars lightly. I loved this book. I read it in 2 days and could have read it straight through if had been allowed!

I enjoyed the plot, technical aspects and the characters as well! I will be looking for more of Chris Mooney's books for sure!

Godzilla: Good on technical stuff, but thin on plot.

The characters aren't particularly strong or believable. But if you suspend your disbelief the book rockets along at a good pace. Fairly gory, and it felt overdone in places.

I can't say I'd be rushing to pick up another novel by this author, but as it was given to me by a friend, I don't want to be too critical either.

Sparhawk: Released this was the second in a series but decided to read it. Enjoyed it. Liked the main female character and can see her developing well. Will try now for the first in the series and any others.