I gave this a 4 out of 5 Stars.
So, I had a semi-productive day trying to sell classified ads the other day (semi productive meaning out of about 10 people I contacted, one got back to me and said, "sure, maybe"). And I decided to treat myself with another murder mystery. This one was also free on Amazon (it's still free, actually: http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Gamble-Charlie-Parker-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B002OHD1WQ). This is the first in a series, so it's supposed to pull you in so you buy the rest.
Charlie is an accountant for her brother's investigation practice. He does the leg work and she makes sure they get paid. Then one day while her brother is out of town, her former best friend who ran off with her fiancé comes by and begs Charlie to help her find a watch she thinks someone stole from her. Well, okay, it was stolen from her by a man she was sleeping with while her husband (Charlie's former fiancé) was out of town....
And later that guy ends up dead. So, Charlie has to help her former/now not so former friend prove that said friend is NOT the killer.
Now, what I like about this story is that it is a real detective story. Charlie investigates. She doesn't just run into the information. She isn't invited to help by the police. No, she's really not supposed to be helping at all (no license, active murder investigation, etc.). But, she's making phone calls, going on stake outs, asking questions, and trying to figure it out. And in the meantime, she's also doing taxes and books for the business and taking care of the dog. Unlike the Flock and Fiber mystery, this is really a story where the mystery is the central story. We don't go off on wild tangents about breeds of dogs or her chosen profession as a CPA or her brother's profession as an investigator. We might get a little big of that information to fill in the story, but it doesn't take up the bulk of the story. The murder investigation is the central part of the story. And when we're given bits of trivia in this story, we know to remember it because later on the coin drops and there's a reason for it.
What I don't like is that sometimes the author's viewpoint bleeds through in a little preachy bits through Charlie's thoughts. Not too much, but enough to make me squirm.
However, it's not a bad story. It's free. It's a fun read. Where I gave the Flock and Fiber story 3 out of 5, I gave this one 4 out of 5.
2 comments:
I also don't much care for it when the protagonist just keeps stumbling over the correct information at the correct time.
Yeah. It's just not a real murder mystery then.
Post a Comment