Review: Unsatisfying
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2011
Dr. Joanna Adelman, blind from an accident five years earlier, has been assigned the task of translating Jewish family papers donated to the Boston Archives.  Even before she can begin her work, though, she receives threats and warnings intended to dissuade her from her research.  The threats and warnings only cause her to dig further leading her to a mystery dating back to the 1930's.Kris Langman's writing style is engaging.  I was drawn into the story right away, and the plot held my attention for the most part.  I enjoyed many of the descriptions, especially at the beginning of the book.  The bits of Boston history sprinkled throughout were also interesting.Unfortunately, the story wandered in a couple of places, and I was left with too many unanswered questions.  Dr. Adelman sums up my feelings best when she says at the end of the book, "It's just so unsatisfying."Maybe it's just me, but I also struggled with the definitions of some of the Jewish words.  Langman doesn't explain what a "shul" is until about 75% of the way through the book.  Yes, I have my Kindle dictionary, but when I highlighted "shul" my dictionary brought up "Shula."  Not the same thing.  I would have appreciated a glossary of some sort.I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.