Review: 'Death by Broken Heart' is a cute Michigan mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2013
I like reading anything by Michigan authors - especially stories that are set in my home state.`Death by Broken Heart' by Candy Ann Little is no exception.The story is about Bailey Rhodes, a private investigator that spends her time running away from her problems instead of towards a solution.Bailey is returning to her home in Grand Ledge, Mich., where she runs into her old high school boyfriend and stumbles on a murder the very first night she's back in town.`Death by Broken Heart' has a lot of folksy charm - but Bailey is a character with so many hard edges, she's really difficult to like. Bailey is provocative and flies off the handle for the slightest transgression - whether real or imagined.Despite that, there is something about Bailey that is interesting - so you continue to read.As an author, Little is pretty solid. She does a good job with her descriptions - even if she does tend to overwrite. In essence, she goes overboard a lot of the time.In one sentence she writes "as red as a Traverse City cherry." It's suppose to be a small town witticism - but it becomes grating. Little is a solid author. She doesn't have to push it. The sooner she realizes it, the better.There isn't a lot to the central mystery - and the ending is left up in the air. It's the characters at the center of `Death by Broken Heart' that are the key to its success.I actually think the book would have been better if it was a little longer. As it is, Bailey seems to be at the right place at the right time right from the start -- and it gives the story a contrived feeling. Still, that's a small complaint.There are a few typos and grammar mistakes, but they're pretty minor for an indie book.