Review: Great story and plot, with a few issues
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 26, 2010
I loved the premise and plot of this book, it was well thought out and planned. While it required a pretty big suspension of belief, I really enjoyed the main character, his back story and predicament. When the writing was good, it was really very good. The author clearly has a talent for dialogue and snappy writing. There were several times I found myself giggling to myself. The dialogue, while really wonderful, may have also been the author's downfall. There's just so much of it that I feel like we didn't get to the meat of the characters and who they truly were. Even for a quick slapstick mystery, it was a little thin on character development.I was also impressed with the lack of spelling and grammatical errors. Self-published books seem to be rife with them as a whole. However, I think the book could have done with a bit of a content editor. There was a large chunk in the middle that could have easily been cut back or completely done away with. Worse, I felt like the author kept drawing big red arrows to a certain item (don't wanna give spoilers) that was obviously planted for a reason. I was kind of disappointed in that part.None of this detracts from the fact that it's a well executed book, overall. Other than those few little personal niggles, I thought it was a fun ride and most of it kept me guessing until the very end. I totally missed a lot of it, actually, so good for the author - I've become pretty adept at figuring out the who/what/when/where/why/how these days.This is recommended for those that like quirky mystery suspense books with an island flair. Would make for a great vacation book - or, frankly, a good escape from all the "extended family fun" with the upcoming holidays.