Skip to main content

A Different Kind of Mystery

I always chuckle when I read reviews of mysteries that say, "I knew it the whole time."  The funny thing about mysteries is that readers are caught in a catch-22--we want to figure out "who did it", but we don't want it to be too easy to figure out.  In the case of a mystery that I read this week, I had figured out "who did it" early on in the book.

The book was AH Gabhart's new book, Murder Comes by Mail.  This is the second book in Ms.
Gabhart's Hidden Springs Mystery.  It's not her usual genre.  I feel that the first book in this series was more enjoyable than this one.  This second book felt dry, slow, and plodding.  I hate to use words like those, but that is how I felt as I read the book.  I was more annoyed with more characters than is usual for most books I read.

The story is about Michael Keane and the town of Hidden Springs.  In the beginning of the story, he saves a man from jumping off a bridge and becomes a hero.  Shortly thereafter, trouble ensues.  Many of the characters from the first book are here ready to be a part of the story.  This book makes much more sense if you've read Murder at the Courthouse first.

As for the book itself...The plot continues at a steady pace.  The writing is very competent, though not surprising or unusual.  I suspect that many readers will be surprised at the twists and turns in this story, but for some reason I wasn't.  What disappointed me in the book was Alex and Michael's relationship/friendship.  As a reader, it was a strange relationship.  Awkward.  Not quite what I'd hoped for.

Overall, the book is really just fine. It's just not my favorite.  I enjoyed the first one much more.  I hope the third book in the series will remind me more of the first than the second when it comes out some time in the future!

(Angel Sister still remains my favorite book by this author!)

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Revell Books.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comparison of Verses

Tonight I was reading the Mom's Bible again (NCV) and compared this verse: NCV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything. NIV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. The Message 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewis...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...
Post a Comment
Read more