Do No Harm

by Jack Jordan

[lessthelonely]

3.5/5 stars, because I feel like I must bring down some critiques on this book.

This is a first read by the author for me. It's funny to see an author's photo and immediately clock him as gay, which I would point out as the reason this book is as good as it is. There's nothing gay men love more than writing drama and shock-thirsty plots surrounding women. The difference I see between a gay author and a straight one is that gay authors tend to be a bit closer to realistic portrayals of women. Notice I didn't say perfect.

This book is one hell of a title for its target demographic - I can characterize them because my mom is probably in it: 40-50s, enjoys thrillers but can be easily made to divert their gaze from the TV if it's too gory or violent, loves a slightly misogynistic portrayal of relationships between women, maybe because they relate to it in their lives. Mom, if you're reading this, I have no regrets. Please proceed with killing me.

I, for one, have similar tastes to my mom in this regard, especially in the shock-thirsty. There's nothing that gets my blood pumping harder than some reasonably tasteful shock value. I think that is the case here. I, however, am trying to be more wary of a book's problematic traits because, well, I don't believe you can really tell these sorts of issues before reading the book... That's why I feel like I should bring up some points.

* To start, this book is long. And I don't feel like it had that much to go through. We have mostly off-page antagonists - if anything, they're plot devices -, so this isn't a "you've known the killer all this time". The book hinges on a moral dilemma, which is brought up in the synopsis, even and is the reason I have this book physically. I feel, however, that, for the somewhat reasonably satisfying ending, a few pages should've been dropped.
* This is the harshest criticism I have to offer: all characters are merely "humanized" by their ability to be mothers. Granted, motherhood seems to be at the core of the themes, here. While I do have grounds to say this "women can only be human when they're mothers" is somewhat subverted, I attribute it more easily to chance than actual intention - all three narrators are characterized in this manner. That begets intention. Only one of them actually gets what I would call subversion.
* This book has a plot fueled by camp - it only gets crazier, which I like! Reminds me of a Riley Sager book. This seems to be the author's wheelhouse because at its most campy (see: Grey's Anatomy worthy surgery scenes), is when the author's most competent in his writing. The writing is sharpest in these moments. Those chapters fly the fuck by.

So, in all honesty, I enjoyed it and it was incredibly competent for a thriller. It was more about the journey than the destination. Because of that, I feel like the author might have something that genuinely makes me gasp and hits me like a brick. So I will be trying at least one more book by them. Stay tuned for when that happens!