ARC review: Nothing Personal by Alex Dook

I have to admit I almost put Nothing Personal by Alex Dook aside multiple times as I just couldn’t seem to engage at all. More particularly in the early parts of the book where we’re meeting a stack of not-necessarily-likeable characters. I also wondered if Dook is a pantser type writer as some of the characters felt inconsistent as if they morphed throughout the book. Lola, our lead character and narrator not soo much but some of the support cast certainly. A mobster’s son, Bradley Parker on first meeting, seems nice and wanting something different from his life. Trying to prove his worth to his father, and younger brother Johnny who seems a bit less hinged. In fact, I was expecting him to become a love interest for Lola. But that kinda reverses completely and I wondered if that was a purposeful ploy by Dook, or where the storytelling took him.

About this book

Lola McKenzie never wanted to steal from her dodgy boss.

But she also never wanted to be stuck in a dead-end job, paying off her dad's debts.

So when she sees a bag of cash sitting around unattended at work, she figures it's time to make life a little easier. Only, the next day her boss is missing, presumed dead - and it won't take a genius to figure out Lola is involved.

Turns out that Lola's pinched more than a bag of cash ... nestled at the bottom of the bag was a USB drive that could be either a curse or an opportunity. Lola doesn't know what's on it, only that it's important enough for the local cops and the local crooks to come looking for it.

Is it a magnet for trouble? Or her ticket out of the hard life? All she has to do is figure out a way to sell it to the highest bidder without revealing her identity.
Should be easy, right?

My thoughts

I should mention I’m not a huge fan of white collar crime novels or those featuring mobsters and the like. I need to either be reading about a sociopath who has some kind of agenda, a thriller-like race against time to uncover something; or a mystery to unravel.

I think the most ironic thing here is that the money Lola steals is not exorbitant and it’s a USB in the bag that is attracting attention. There are a few threads at play here and I was a little confused about a sideline plot featuring an Asian restaurant and its owner, Mr Bang, who pays the Parker family protection money but was perhaps robbed despite that? And then there’s the amateur-like ineptitude of Bradley and Johnny’s friends or employees.

The inclusion of Lola’s colleague Kayleigh and her wedding seemed a bit left-field given we don’t hear of her again after that. Perhaps her character’s there to remind Lola of the normalcy she doesn’t / won’t have.

I did very much enjoy the relationship between Lola and her father (a former professor). He’s squandered much of their money and they’re at risk of losing the family home. At times Lola is sympathetic and empathetic towards him, other times angry and frustrated. Similarly her father often apologises for the situation in which he’s left them but belligerent about doing anything about it.

In many ways the events here are the result of a comedy of errors and sheer bad luck. However it’s a solid read and I probably enjoyed the last third or quarter the most as that’s when Dook picks up the pace and offers more action and a twist or two.

Nothing Personal by Alex Dook will be published in early August by Echo Publishing.

I received an advance copy from the publisher for review purposes.