|
Review of THIS OLD SOUSE by Mary Daheim (see her website)A BED-AND-BREAKFAST MYSTERY
William Morrow, August 2004
When her cousin mentions an old house, B&Bmanager Judith McMonigle quickly becomes obsessed, interviewing the milkman, the deliveryman, and just about everyone else in the neighborhood. It turns out that the house is inhabited, but virtually no one ever sees the inhabitants. While snooping around Judith leaves her car for a few minutes--and comes back to find a body in her trunk. As an official suspect, she feels obligated to continue her investigation, finally breaking into the house in the middle of the night.
THIS OLD SOUSE never quite takes off. Unsympathetic characters and excessive reliance on coincidence repeatedly jar the reader out of the story. Author Mary Daheim (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Daheim) relies on reader loyalty to a long-established series for momentum to carry the story forward rather than on plotting or characterization. Although it was well-enough written to persuade me to read to the end, I just never got into this one.
I very much enjoyed the earlier Daheim story I read. I hope THIS OLD SOUSE is an exception. For me, at least, this one didn't click.
One Star
Reviewed 11/20/04
Ready to buy it now? Click the buy now button.
Visit Amazon.com to read more reviews or to purchase
THIS OLD SOUSE from Amazon.com
Rather buy it from Barnes and Noble?
Buy the eBook version from Fictionwise.com
What do you think? Too generous? Too stingy? Or did I miss the entire point? Send your comments to publisher@booksforabuck.com. Give me the okay to use your name and I'll publish all the comments that fit (and don't use unprintable language).
Check out the Alexa toolbar. It blocks pop-ups (you get to choose), it's free, and it tells you about what websites are popular and who owns them.
|