Review: Lots of Problems With This One
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2014
Zoey Kane and her daughter Claire have been invited to a mansion by Matilda Dread to help her find a buried treasure in the house. The mansion once belonged to Matilda's deceased grandfather, a pirate who possessed a large quantity of stolen pearls and jewels. A lot of people want to get their hands on the treasure and will stop at nothing to do so.It's a fun premise for a cozy mystery, isn't it? You've got a terrific setting with a houseful of people on a stormy night, a coven of witches (none of them actually knows witchcraft) and a killer on the loose. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't measure up to the plot. The dialogue is awkward, the characters two dimensional, and the plot twists don't make sense. The deputy trapped in the house with the group isn't smart enough to confiscate or even search for weapons after the first murder, so guns are appearing out of nowhere. Nor can the deputy apparently tell when a man is really dead. The transitions jump from event to event with no build up, no sense of suspense, and too little logic, which is a shame. I wanted to like the book but it needs much more work to properly flesh out the characters and fix those logic problems.