Review: Fun and cathartic for us pop-culture weary souls!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2013
This review is written by Nic's wife.Personally, I'd give it 4 stars for my own enjoyment. Probably 3 stars for the actual writing, though.To be honest, I really liked this. It all comes down to personal baggage. I grew up playing classical piano on a competitive level, and hit high school during the early 2000s, when there were a few artists who played their own piano. After years of hearing "Oh, you play? For ten years? I bet you can totally play that Alicia Keys song!" and "Do you know that Michelle Branch song?" I can identify with poor Esther quite well! While the piano lines in Alicia Keys' song "Falling" and Michelle Branches song "1000 miles" are a step above the piano you usually hear in pop music, it's downright insulting having your abilities degraded with the assumption that that is all the instrument is capable of. Hell, I'll even take Rob D's "Clubbed To Death", which at least features the delicate refrain of Elgar's "Enigma Variations", even if it's looped ad nauseum to accent a somewhat dated beat. Let's hope that real music talent makes a resurgence, starting with more intense pianists!Point to all that is, "Murder At Shady Oaks Senior Estates" is hilariously cathartic if you're the least bit tired of popular culture. There's some nice humor to the writing, and it's a very funny experience.There's some bumpy spots in the writing. The beginning could be tied more closely to the main story content, there's some scenes that could be drawn out to emphasize the characterizations, and not just the premise... It's probably not the most solid piece of writing I've ever read, but it's a pretty solid reading experience. I corresponded with the author about the writing, and the direction I'd love to see it go, so a detailed, spoiler ridden critique is redundant here.I had fun with it, and am looking forward to reading the sequel.