Review: The Competition (Rachel Knight #4) by Marcia Clark

In Marcia Clark's most electrifying thriller yet, Los Angeles DA Rachel Knight investigates a diabolical high school massacre.

A Columbine-style massacre at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide. But in the aftermath of the shooting, as LA Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight and Detective Bailey Keller dig deeper, they realize that the pieces don't add up. Could it be that the two "killers" were themselves victims? And if so, does that mean that the real killers are still on the loose? When someone starts dropping clues that another horrific crime is in the works, Rachel and Bailey scramble desperately to profile their suspect and prevent another killing--before it's too late. 

 

I first started this book about two months ago. I just finished it. I think that says a lot. When I first started The Competition, I was really excited because of who the author was ... I figured that she would have an interesting take on pretty much everything since she's been in the trenches with this type of thing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book for about the first quarter. After that, all bets were off. And so was my concentration and patience with this novel.

Here's the deal. I haven't read any other novels from this series and maybe that's why I had issues with this. There are about a bazillion characters that you have to keep track of ... you have lawyers and detectives and cops and judges and crime scene investigators and the ME and on and on and on. That's just the people investigating stuff. That's not to mention the school full of kids that you also have to keep track of and remember who is friends with whom and what they do in their spare time, what their cousin's best friend's neighbor's dog likes for a snack. This book was just so detailed that you really lost the magic. It was just too much. I had to actually go through and highlight in my book when a new character made their first appearance so that I could keep track of who in the hell everyone was. After about halfway through the book, I just gave up on that and every character was new to me and I had no idea who was who. 

The storyline was also nothing that I was expecting. I thought the pages would be filled with intrigue and massive revelations and set backs and big surprises but it wasn't. It was a bit predictable and that isn't really fun to read. I'm okay with having hunches, that is what makes reading so much fun! Wondering who did what is why I love mysteries. Or even when the author makes it apparent who did it and you have to see the journey to catch them ... that's great also. That is a far cry from knowing who did it and just experiencing the characters knowing who did it and then it reading like it's all a surprise isn't fun. That probably didn't make sense at all if you haven't read this. 

Well, my curiosity has been stomped out. I know what a big-time defense attorney's writing style is like and it's not for me. But it's received pretty high ratings, so you might give it a try. Oh, and FYI, don't get too attached to what you think are main characters, you'll just be floored and disappointed. And pretty quickly.

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