Review: Good read, needs more careful editing
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 18, 2013
This was a good story, with believable characters and an engrossing plot. Miranda's reluctance to enter into a relationship was far more believable than the usual "jump into bed at the least provocation" that seems to be the norm with many romantic mysteries these days. I also appreciated her toughness, and the fact that it wasn't superficial. Many of the so-called "tough cookies" of modern mystery writing are just tough on the surface, and are unbelievably squeamish at the most inopportune moments. Miranda, however, is credible as someone who has toughened herself up as a result of her earlier life; this toughness also makes the story line tantalizing, because you know that she has feelings for Parker, but that she is fighting them because of her fear of losing herself again in a relationship. The characters are nicely balanced, and the twist of involving one of the girls in the murders was believable, too.My only objection is to the somewhat spotty editing. Not knowing the difference between a plural "s" ending and a possessive "s" ending is an annoying and all-too-prevalent error these days. Some misuse of words was also irritating; please, take time to look up the big words that you don't know, and don't just trust the thesaurus when it says that one word is a synonym for another word! Also make sure you're using the correct word -- at least twice in the book the author used a word that sounds similar to the one that would have been correct, but which meant a completely different concept. A minute's worth of research on the internet (dictionary.com is your friend) would give you enough information to know that the word you chose is wrong, so put in that extra effort! And if you paid someone to edit this book? It's time to hire a new editor.