Reviewing
Snow Job
By William Deverell

I wanted to love it! I wanted to dive in head first and enjoy being fully immersed in this novel but it just didn’t happen. Snow job does not read well as a standalone. The writing felt a little disjointed and the excessively wordy writing made the story hard to follow. It felt like this book was written with a thesaurus in one hand and pen in the other. I hope that those readers who have enjoyed the rest of the series can sink into this novel a little more than I did.

⭐️⭐️💫 2.5 stars for a book that just didn’t hit the mark for me.

I’m not sure what I was having problems with but this book just didn’t connect for me. I seem to be completely lost all the time. The narrator had a nice study voice but that also seem to not help me keep track of my position in the book.

I’m so sorry, but this audio book was just not what I was looking for. The writing was bloated with triple the amount of word necessary to get a message across. I did not relate to or get interest peaked in any of the characters and I did not make it through chapter 3. I love thrillers, snarky comedies, adventurous dramas, and mysteries … but it didn’t seem to check off any of those boxes so I do not plan on finishing this book.

I don't know whether it was because I had the audio version and tended to read it in 45 minute bursts that I really could not get into this book. I got in a muddle as to who was who and paused listening intending to restart later. There is so much in the story that I would normally enjoy but, listening became an obligation rather than enjoyment. The narrator needed a Canadian accent as it is set there but other foreign accents sounded comedic. Reading the book might have worked better. It would probably work as a film or TV series.

Normally I am here for political intrigue but I just couldn't get into this one. I was bored and found myself not listening to it and then wondering what in the hell was going on. I don't know if it was the author's writing style, the narrator's voice/animation, or I just wasn't in the mood to muddle through but I decided to give up. Life is too short to read books you aren't into.

I might try another book by this author at another time to see if it's just me.

#SnowJob
#NetGalley

Arthur Beauchamp is a lawyer out of place. He loves his rural island, but has followed his young wife to Ottawa after she wins a seat in parliament.

Drama unfolds after a foreign delegation, explosives, and oil companies are part of a situation that blows up.

I was super excited to read a funny political thriller, but this one fell flat for me.

I’m not sure if the humor was just not what I was expecting, or maybe jumping into the series at book 4 was a mistake.

The story did end up being fairly compelling (after a lot of diversions I didn’t care about), but all the relationships were confusing and the characters weren’t particularly likable. I also didn’t find it laugh out loud funny - more like sometimes amusing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Snow Job is my first William Deverell novel. I had the opportunity to listen to an advance audio copy from Netgalley and dove in. I was eager to start it as part of my goal to read more Canadian authors this year, and it hardly gets more Canadian than this book! The descriptions of the weather, politics and zany characters felt perfectly authentic to this east coaster, even though it’s been over a decade since the book was first published in print.

Because I was jumping in mid-series, I read the summaries of the three previous books in the series to get a better understanding of the characters and plot. I knew going in that Arthur was a respected lawyer yearning for retirement but keeps finding himself returning for “one last case”. In Snow Job, we get an appreciation for his legal abilities throughout the book, starting right away as he pulls a clever, last-second move in a losing trial before being caught up in yet another “last case”. This time he finds himself defending a missing alleged assassin, Abzal Erzhan - from the fictional Bhashyistan but living in Montreal - whose disappearance quickly makes worldwide headlines amidst a bombing of Bhashyistan officials. In the events that follow, Arthur joins the center stage in a pressure-cooker of international scandal, declarations of war, civilian kidnappings, power-hungry politicians, eco-warriors, and oil tycoons. While a bit slow at times, I found myself growing more invested as the story (and Arthur’s success) as the story went on.

What I liked: a unique style that doesn’t fit squarely into any single genre, an original plot, a variety of animated and interesting characters, great narration that was very engaging and brought a cast of wild characters to life, and authentic Canadiana that rang true. The descriptive language combined with the narration sometimes felt more like experiencing a play than listening to a novel. The book was also funnier than it had any business being given the subject matter and I laughed out loud a couple of times while listening. I also found Arthur and his humble grumbling irresistibly likeable.

What I didn’t like: excessive, rambling wordiness at times made it hard to follow, and gave me the impression that the author was trying too hard to sound intellectual and didn’t mind that this would alienate some readers. However, from other reviews it is clear this is typical for Deverell and something he has received a lot of acclaim for so this is just a matter of personal taste. I also felt there were far too many characters, and maybe if there were less people to keep track of it would have cancelled out the wordiness for me.

This book was different than ones I usually reach for and I would say I enjoyed it overall. I expect that I will eventually find myself going back and starting the series from the beginning at some point, but it won’t jump to the top of my list.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Sometimes I'm too impulsive. This is an example. I saw the blurb for this book and thought, "That looks funny, intelligent and entertaining." So I requested it from Netgalley. While I was waiting for the response, I reflected on how many books I've been caught out by because they don't say, "Not suitable for Catholics who are trying to live good moral lives and read edifying literature." When I was given approval, my heart sank. - I had to face up to my impulsive decision. With trepidation I started and we were straight into a lawsuit on some pornographic art. Not a good start. It was cleverly written, witty, but not subject matter I want to read about. I persevered a little longer, thinking, maybe this is just a blip. We learn a little about Arthur Beauchamp, disenchanted lawyer, getting embroiled in Canadian politics - something I know nothing about. My heart sank. William Deverell is an excellent writer, intelligent, funny, but his portrayal of women as sexualised objects made me stop reading this book. I just couldn't carry on. It's a shame because I have a lot of time for Canadian authors and their culture, and this is a very Canadian book, but I have a lot of books to read, and sometimes I just have to admit I've made a bad judgement call and move on to the next title.
With thanks to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.