Beth's Review: The Lesson Plan by G.J. Prager
Author Provided Copy Publisher: Self-Published Released: November 10th 2014 Genre: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Length: 241 pages Format: eBook, Paperback, Audio Add to Goodreads Buy Links
Amazon Author Page Synopsis
Times are tough in L.A., and Robert Klayman, substitute teacher, attempts to solve his money woes by moonlighting as a private detective. He soon stumbles upon a criminal drug ring working out of a prominent Los Angeles school district. When a young teacher is murdered, Klayman sets out to find the culprit; his efforts take him on a spine tingling journey through the netherworld of private detection.
From the streets of L.A. to the gaudy casinos on the Vegas strip, and to surreal, ghostly Arizona landscapes, Klayman finally redeems himself, but at a price he never could imagine. Three Boundless Stars
The Lesson Plan is a thriller told by Rob Claymon, a substitute teacher by day, and “wanna be” private investigator by night. As he is out on a simple case, he falls into a much bigger, murder mystery. The further he gets into the case, the more questions there are, and more bad guys turn up. It gets to where it becomes harder and harder to determine exactly WHO the good guy is.
It’s a great story and it’s well written. It’s obvious that Prager is a talented writer, and he also narrated the story excellently. It’s rare to hear a book narrated by the author, but it enhances the story so much. I don’t know why more authors don’t do this; after all, the writer knows the emotion he’s trying to convey better than anyone he can hire. The only thing I would recommend is to make it easier to distinguish which character is talking in the dialog. A slight change of voice or another reader would have worked nicely.
It’s a smooth and easy book to read, or listen to; I recommend it for your next road trip, as long as it is an adult trip. It is not made to be shared little ears. With that being said; I must share, it was impossible to relate to any of the characters. No one in the story had a moral compass of any kind. It’s hard to find who to root for, or even like, when everyone in the story is a jerk, slut, or criminal. If there would have been at least one character I could like, it would have been a 5 star book. The Lesson Plan has the makings for a great “the good guy always wins” story, but the good guy was the biggest jerk in the book. He starts the book out with a “the world is unfair,” and “everything bad is someone else’s fault,” negative outlook. As the story progresses, he proves that it is very much possible, that his shattered dreams and crappy life are a combination of his stupidity and bad choices.
Overall, the lack of descent characters took a lot away from a great story with a talented author and narrator. I rate The Lesson Plan with 3 boundless stars.