I liked the premise of Bazaar. The tone of the book is set from the start where one of the key characters, Aaron is depicted creating a firearm using a 3D printer in preparation for its use in an assassination. This is a dark world where if your name comes up on the hit-list where bets are placed on the date of your demise, you can become a target.
And so, we follow Aaron as he embarks on his first proper job, the successful kill of an ambassador’s son, the result of which being that he not only gains a taste for the role but also for its rewards – money.
Joyner’s narrative races along at a fair old pace and we are soon introduced to RAPTOR and Yemi and Karen, its originators. RAPTOR is an organisation which offers protection services for those under threat and is made up of a team with different strengths: combat, cyber, sniper, strategy, public liaison – you get the picture.
I had difficulty getting into this book. On completing it, I’ve sat and analysed why I think that would be as Joyner’s writing is good in terms of its direction and its descriptions. It has purpose and an implied intensity. The action sequences show the terseness and the violence of the confrontations and it is strong on dialogue so that you are aware of the repartee between the comrades.
But I’m not sure that I was really clear on character throughout. There are some, for instance, Lyle, who I can say without doubt is a hothead but for the others, I struggled to grasp them distinctly. Rounded characters whose motivations are clear create involvement and whilst there were parts in the book that I appreciated, there were others where I felt lost and lacked interest as a result. There were also characters introduced like Rold, who I felt like I should know from the way he lands in the text but I didn’t and it left me a little uncomfortable, like I was missing something and second-guessing my reading. This was one thing that detracted from an involved reading for me.
I know there will be readers who will enjoy this book with its focus on thrilling action and how it drives the book as well as the suggestion of this dark underworld and Aaron’s ambition within it but for me, it wasn’t enough.
This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC.
Scuffed Granny 