Review: This is a promising work from a debut author, one with the skills to go far.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 15, 2013
I believe most can relate to the feel of the suburban faade, great on the outside with the dirt and disharmony existing quietly below the surface awaiting discovery. Chris Merlo manages to bring that sense of dichotomy and hidden agendas forward in this story.  While there were many positives in this story: descriptions were great, the twists and turns were cleverly introduced and always surprising, and the pacing was reasonably consistent throughout.From those positives, there were some not so wonderful, yet easily rectified with experience and editing, issues to address.  Merlo has an interesting style and can manipulate his words in descriptive passages that are fun and easy to imagine.  He used this skill to great effect in drawing his characters: primary and secondary characters are well defined and described; they simply lack that extra oomph that would give them depth.  Far more energy was used to describe and tell, with less energy given to show, a simple maxim but a skill that is often gained with experience and effort.  Additionally, an editor should have been used to clear up the grammatical and spelling errors that were liberally sprinkled throughout the text.Pacing was, as I have mentioned, consistent after a slower start to establish place and people.  While it wasn’t a breakneck rush to the end, the story did keep my interest, as I tried to work out the next twist to no avail.  This is a promising work from a debut author, one with the skills to go far.I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.