Origin & Jump Cut | Mini Reviews

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published: August 2013

Read: January 2019

Series: Lux #4

Rating: 2.5 stars

This is book 4 in the series, my thoughts on Obsidian (book 1) can be found here and Opal (book 3) here

Origin is the fourth instalment in the Lux series, and just like its predecessors, this one was quite the page-turner. As expected, this was an easy and engaging read, with well-written action scenes, which I feel is where Armentrout truly shines. I did find the dialogue a little cheesy though and it did pull me out of the story at times. Furthermore, this time around, I found that I couldn’t fully connect with all the characters like I could in the previous books, which was disappointing. Sadly, I can’t rate this one any higher than 2.5 stars, it was okay.

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Jump Cut by Max Allen Collins

Published: November 2007

Read: February 2019

Series: Criminal Minds #1

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: The Behavioral Analysis Unit, an elite team of FBI profilers, are tasked with examining the nation's most twisted criminal minds-anticipating their next moves before they strike again...The BAU team is dispatched to Lawrence, Kansas, to investigate a series of fatal stabbings among the town's homeless population. The victims have all been found freshly bathed, neatly groomed, and wearing new clothes. To profiler Jason Gideon, these look like carefully staged murders in isolated settings, fulfilling the sick fantasies of one or more Unknown Subjects. 

When the kidnapping of a young heiress presents a second, seemingly unrelated crime for the BAU to help solve, Gideon deduces a sinister connection, despite the variance in MOs. The kidnap victim must be found - before she too is a player in the mind games of a pair of UnSubs who are inventing horrific new ways to kill.

As a fan of the Criminal Minds TV series, I loved slipping into this world through a different format. This novel was very plot driven and dialogue heavy, which I actually didn’t mind as the dialogue fit the characters really well, allowing it to read exactly like I was watching a Criminal Minds episode. 

The writing was simple and to-the-point which I really enjoyed for this story. Collins did seem to have a weird fascination with giving excessive descriptions of what people were wearing though, and would (very) frequently refer to characters by their extended job titles long after we were initially introduced to them. These were sooo cumbersome to read and would pull me out of the story every time—ugh! It was just so frustrating and unnecessary. 

Overall, I had a great time reading this one, but I think this is largely due to the love and nostalgia I have for the show. I would only recommend this to true fans of the TV series.