Review: Hackneyed Plot, Unremarkable Characters, and Who Done It Is Obvious
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2014
Amateur sleuth Cindy and former police detective Mattheus have teamed up to form their own private investigation firm. Their first case is on their plates before they even have time to hang out their shingle, thanks to Cindy’s reputation in the small world of the Caribbean Islands.All this sounds promising, especially with the beautiful and exotic setting of St. Thomas. Unfortunately, the author tells, instead of shows. Cindy’s internal dialogues about where her life is going and whether she is suited for detective work disrupt the action and are immature.Characters are cardboard cut-outs: the business-like professional woman, the blowsy spa owner, the misogynistic police detective, the homemaker detached from reality in her upscale enclave, and the artist leftover from the Sixties with spot-on intuitions.The plot twist has been used on most every television crime show, and it takes about half the book to get there. Once the murderer was introduced, I skipped to the end to confirm the obvious, and then I was out of this tedious detective tale.