Reviewed By: Shirley - RAM
On the Chopping Block
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Bobby Jaye Allen
Class/Genre: Mystery
On the morning of the Founders Day Fair in Early, Michigan the body of the town librarian is found in a local bookstore. She has been killed with an axe. A planned book signing must be moved to the fair site. Visiting ex-cop Brady Kincaid helps the local police force investigate.
To some lucky writers the art of storytelling seems to come naturally. But although this writer has a few good moments here they are outweighed by the flaws. For starters the book begins with one of the worst opening scenes Išve read in awhile. The writer goes on to introduce a number of characters without initially explaining their relationships to each other or to the story, leaving the reader in confusion. Even the names seem off. If they were intended to be humorous they miss the mark. Instead they are just strange and distracting.
The plot hangs on strange points such as dried sweat scraped from inside a car window and a custom made one-of-a-kind scent that lingers for a day. And while the police rush here and there using questionable investigative methods, the reader will have figured it out much ahead of them. Unsubtle clues and very obvious hints are repeated, and the timelines are just a boring repetition of what has gone before.
With the plot involving bad book reviews one wonders if the writer is either very brave or perhaps writing from experience. Lets hope she refines her skills to write stories that ring true. This one didnšt.
Shirley - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Shirley - RAM
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