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Book Review – Indelible, by Karin Slaughter

Indelible (Grant County, #4)Indelible by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Grant County series that I have read, and I’m obviously ambivalent. There’s something in the books that keeps me reading and I want to like them, but I just haven’t gotten the rush that I get from a book that I really like. This one starts with a bang, literally–two thugs break into police headquarters, shoot a cop in the face with a shotgun and wound other people, including protagonist Chief Jeffery Tolliver, and hold the rest of the occupants hostage, including protagonist Dr. Sara Linton and a bunch of grade school kids on an early morning visit. So this is going to be a suspenseful drama about a hostage situation, right? Well, not really, because the story flashes back to a trip that Jeffery and Sara made at the beginning of their relationship to his hometown in Alabama, where they become embroiled in small town drama and relationship issues. Of course, the mystery is how all of this relates to the taking of police headquarters in the present. We also have the tale of the third protagonist, Detective Lena Adams, who has rejoined the sheriff’s office on her first day back, and now must deal with the hostage situation on the outside. If it sounds confusing, that’s because it is. The mystery is eventually solved after many twists and turns, but by the time it was I almost didn’t care. The author seems to introduce plot twists by changing the direction of the story on a whim, getting the reader interested in one plot line then abruptly charging off in a different direction without providing a satisfactory resolution to the current one. The characters follow a similar path–they’re highly reactive, not very proactive. All of this engendered much confusion and frustration in me, the reader.
I do want to finish the series, mainly because Karin Slaughter is one of the most successful mystery authors in history, so she’s gotta be doing something right. But so far, it’s been a rough go. I hope she hits her stride soon.

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Book Review – A Place of Execution by Val McDermid

A Place of ExecutionA Place of Execution by Val McDermid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Place of Execution is the best book I have read in quite a while. After reading the first few pages, I had to check to make sure it was indeed a novel and not a true crime story. It’s journalistic style heightens the suspense. While not a cozy, the author pays similar attention to details of setting and character as you would find in the best cozies. The plot is convoluted but believable, and truly horrifying because it is believable. I will surely have to read the rest of Val McDermid’s books.

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Book Review – Stormy Kind of Love by Tia Lee

Stormy Kind of LoveStormy Kind of Love by Tia Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stormy Kind of Love is a book with potential. Unfortunately, it did not reach its potential, because it’s really unfinished. It’s a story about a young woman who has affairs with two men–one, a handsome bad boy and the other, your all-around good guy. These characters are well-thought out and have some depth, as do the important secondary characters. The plot is somewhat predictable, but this is a romance, so that is to be expected. The book falls down in two areas. It was obviously not professionally edited, as there are numerous typos, grammatical errors and formatting glitches. Also, it has two endings, one of them labeled the alternate ending. The alternate ending actually led to a Hitchcockian plot that could have really rocked, but I got the feeling that at that point, the author wanted to be done with book. I wish she had chosen one ending (the alternate had the best potential) and then spent the time to really polish the story. She could have had a five star book. As it is, I have to give it 2.5 stars, rounded up.

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