Review: Great protagonists in Judy and Jim
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 8, 2013
Judy and Jim go out on the lake to fish--Jim with ill-prepared delight, and Judy with wise trepidation. The conversation of this aging couple is amusingly real, with happy insults and a powerful sense of underlying trust and love. The Florida scenery is described with haunting detail. And Jim's wide knowledge of the history and geography allows readers as well as his wife to learn its background. Then come the scares.A farcical chapter of accidents ensues as inept cops fail to catch a devious crook who's chasing the solution to an ancient mystery. Like the meandering canals of the lake, the story twists and turns from one disaster to another, and, while the mystery may not technically hold water, the boats hold characters and fun, and the water holds gaters and hope.Not normally a praying woman, Judy finds herself turning more and more to calling on the Lord. And answers come, though perhaps not in the form she'd hoped for. The bad guy might plan to kill, but his hand is stayed over again, and redemption remains a promise to those who find the right path home.Dead Lake is a fairly short read, lengthened with lots of fascinating details, peopled with great characters, and peppered with amusingly genuine conversation.Disclosure: I won an ecopy in a blog tour.