Review of Broken City (2013) by Troy A — 24 Jun 2013

An ill-constructed throwback to the old gumshoe detective films -- but without the intrigue or mystique of the classic films. The larger pieces of this political/crime mystery puzzle never fit together quite right, which ultimately results in an unsatisfying feeling when the full picture is finally laid out.

Further muddying the water are a ton of superfluous details that are introduced but never played out to their full extent or have much consequence, for example: the hero's sobriety, the entire arch with his girlfriend or a politician's secret relationship.

These tantalizing/promising story threads are brought to let but not let to develop story line or substantially alter character. The final conflict/revelation for the hero - feels very manufactured rather than a genuine tactical move by the villain.

In the end, this mystery isn't very fun to unravel.