Review: Light adventure to escape into
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
The Good...This story starts with a bang. The first chapter pulled me in and I couldn't wait to read the rest of the story. The mystery of the caves is interesting and often begs to be solved throughout the book.The Not-so-good...I'll be the first to admit that I'm not interested in romance novels and this book is a good example of why. Not only do the main characters fall in love extremely fast, but it's mushy, as in Romeo-and-Juliet-can't-live-without-each-other mushy. These are two adults on a quest to beat a killer to the answer about a mysterious cave. Falling in love isn't what's bad it's that it's awkward and rushed.Which brings me to another flaw: for a man who just lost his father and step-mother, Paul seems rather pulled together. In fact, the whole serial killer angle seems to be a McGuffin that's dropped less than half-way through. Sorry, but if I just lost my folks in such a horrendous way I doubt I'd easily forget it. It would be front and center in my mind and I have a feeling it would often get in the way of solving the mystery.Last of all is the often awkward dialogue. I don't know many people who use their friends names so often in a brief conversation. Nor do people generally speak in such stilted language. Cliche characterizations aside, there is very little delineation between each character's way of speaking. I was also a bit put off by the large amount of info dumping monologues. I realize there was a need for the information to be revealed and only certain characters had that information, but it might have made for a more intense reading if those characters were more reticent about giving their information.The Overall...Despite the rushed romance, awkward dialogue and McGuffin-like murders, the mystery was enough for me to continue reading and even enjoy the story. So long as the price remains low, I would recommend The Caves of Etretat, Book One of Four (The Sirenne Saga) by Matt Chatelain to anyone wanting a light adventure to escape into.