A Detail-Heavy Thriller

3.5 out of 5 stars

I don’t like to start out a review with a negative. There is always something that I like in a story.  But, with Never Too Late To Die my biggest issue was the beginning.  Palazuelo wrote an interesting book but it took too long to get into it.  Thankfully, I had some time this week with the holiday to really focus and get into the story — but it just felt like he was explaining people that weren’t even that important to the story.

Now, I know that this has been a #1 seller in its native language and that it was translated for the English-speaking market and I saw no issue with the translation.  Palazuelo wrote a technical thriller with lots and lots of information in it.  If you’ve read other reviews of mine you know that I dislike what I call the “Steven King description”: where an author explains something with such detail I end up thinking ‘okay, I got it!’ before they finish.  Never Too Late To Die had a lot of moments like that, especially in the beginning.

Once I got into the story and once the story picked up the pace a little bit, I can see why it stayed so popular.  It has a great story and a pretty nice narrative throughout it was just bogged down in detail in parts.  Sometimes you need that level of detail for scenes (or things) and sometimes you don’t.  Finding that balance would take this from good to great.

As I mentioned above, the story itself was really good.  I found myself asking lots of questions that would be answered later and I didn’t feel like Palazuelo was going to let a stone remain unturned.  That made for a thrilling and deep book.

Being an audiobook listening/reviewer first and a regular book reader second — I think this book would have benefitted from an audio version.  Being able to listen to some of the more detail-oriented parts would have made this an easier book to get into.

BUT, if you’re a fan of detailed fiction (think King), then I think that you’ll love this. If you like “quick, get me to the action” types of books — be warned that it’ll take a while to get into, but once you’re there it’s an enjoyable book.

Overall, Never Too Late To Die was a book I’m glad I read.  I always like to see how books translate from one language to another.  And with that comes a bit of unknown.  This book was an enigma to me and I’m glad that I was given an opportunity to read it.

Book Description:

Never Too Late To Die by Pablo PalazueloNever Too Late Too Die by Cathy Bahr, Pablo Palazuelo
Published by Self Published on October 13, 2017
Genres: Crime, Thriller
Pages: 459
Format: Kindle
Buy From Amazon
Goodreads

The Trumpets of Jericho blasted from the sky, heralding the imminent arrival of death.

So begins this novel that is equal parts mystery and thriller in which five eccentric friends, all veterans of international intelligence agencies, meet a captivating, provocative young woman down on her luck, who triggers a chain of unforeseen, ill-fated events and steers them toward a ruthless enemy.

More than a spy novel, this is a fast-paced whodunit thriller, fraught with suspense and criminal acts at every turn.

I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

About the Author:

Pablo Palazuelo was born in Madrid, Spain in 1965. He studied Business Administration at Berkeley and speaks several languages. Pablo and his wife have three children.

After serving as a member of Special Forces in the Army, Pablo went on to start his own company, and pursue amateur photography.

One of Pablo’s photographs was featured in a magazine, and he has used it as the cover design for his first endeavor as a writer and novelist, Never Too Late to Die.

The book hit number one for most sold eBooks on Amazon Spain and topped many other charts without any marketing campaign.

Pablo divides his time between Madrid and Los Angeles.

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