Book Review: ‘Sharky’s Machine’ by William Diehl
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Nov.24, 2020, under Books
Sharky’s Machine by William Diehl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’ve wanted to read this book since I saw the film nearly 40 years ago. I’d purchased a few editions of the book over the years, but had not read the book. I finally got to it!
The book is very good. I found the back story excessive and likely more an issue of a first time writer. The first chapters being edited to one more focused would’ve made the bulk of the police procedural more powerful. The film needed more back story. The happy compromise missed.
Getting past the back story, the Sharky and Machine part is excellent in approach and writing. The dialogue – especially for a first time writer – is extraordinary. The back and forth and the rest is as I’ve witnessed with my involvement with law enforcement over the decades.
The bad guys are another story. Diehl is trying to create some believable bad guys, but I get the impression he didn’t want to make them too evil and held back more than he should have. The suspense is also thwarted near the end. At that point I didn’t care what happened to the bad guys.
I wanted to read more of the “Machine”. I wish Diehl had picked up the McBain waning series and continued with an Atlanta based version. GREAT characters.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 6 out of ten points.
Leave a Reply
Linked In
Networked Blogs
Web Stat
