Book Reviews
If you would like to know the criteria upon which we base our reviews, please scroll past the titles and read away! If you're anxious to dig in, click on a link and see what we think.
The Fifth Angel
by Tim Green
Derailed
by Michael Connelly
Lost Light
by Michael Connelly
Scarecrow
by Robin Hathaway
The Last Detective
by Robert Crais
Open Season
by CJ Box
For Whom the
Minivan Rolls
by Jeffrey Cohen
Flat Lake in Winter
by Joseph T. Klempner
Tell No One
by Harlan Coben
True Believers
by Jane Haddam
Dark Undertakings
by Rebecca Tope
An Unhallowed Grave
by Kate Ellis
The Gripping Beast
by Margot Wadley
Heckler
by Dan Barton
Review Guidelines We have some basic guidelines upon which we base our reviews. The criteria are simple, yet important keys to any good writing, not just mysteries. We base our reviews on the following:
1) Real, believable characters. Is he or she flawed in a realistic way that gives him dimension? Do you feel compassion for this character? Do you like or dislike him?
Flat, dimensionless characters leave us cold and unmoved. In mysteries, where danger at some level is bound to be present, do you care whether or not the main character is killed off? Injured? Gets lonely? Gets hungry?
You should feel as if you know the character and care what happens to him. Well-written characters are key to any mystery, and that includes the bad guys as well as the good guys.
2) Believable plots. Can we willingly suspend disbelief? Or will someone in the story do something so incredible or inappropriate that we're jerked right out of the book, scratching our heads saying, "Huh?" Mysteries need plotting so the solution makes sense. Too many red herrings make us toss the book away (oh, who cares!) and an overly telegraphed solution is dull. Tell a story we can follow, but make us think. We want to figure it out.
Most of all, does the plot make sense as it evolves?
3) Good dialogue. We enjoy snappy repartee, as evident in most of our favorite mystery book choices. But whether it's dark and gritty or sharp and clever, the language makes the characters real and moves the story along. Bad dialogue is laden with cliches or sounds wooden and forced when spoken aloud. Too much talk without action gets tedious and confusing; too little lets the story get dull. Granted, it's a fine line, but the good writers do it and make it seem effortless.
4) Clear setting. Do you know where you are? Is the story location described well enough for you to see it in your mind's eye as you read? Do you have a sense of place? Mysteries need a descriptive setting to give us a firm grip on the events taking place. A car chase through a busy city street is completely different from a car chase through a curvy stretch of mountain road. We have to see and understand where we are, or we get pulled out of the story again to try to figure where we took a wrong turn.
5) Adequate foreshadowing. This ties in with the plot, of course. The events taking place should seem to add up in the end so we can say, "I should have seen that coming." Foreshadowing isn't meant to give the ending away, but rather allows us to collect the clues which should lead to a believable conclusion. Red herrings, or false clues, are an important device in mystery plots, but having too many gets frustrating and unbelievable.
6) Satisfying conclusion. Well, in mysteries, the conclusion is a huge element of the story. "Whodunnit?" is the name of the game, after all. If the ending springs out of nowhere and makes no sense, then we've been cheated. We want our money back, because the writer didn't deliver the goods. A surprise ending can still be one that makes sense, and if the writing is good, the the surprise will have us saying, "Of course! I could have figured that out!"
But good, well-written stories do more than offer a satisfying conclusion to a mystery. When you read that final page, what do you feel? Did you get to know these characters? Do you sigh contentedly at the outcome? Do you want to keep reading about them long after the story has ended? That's what we're after when we pick up a new book. We want to meet likable people and see them safely through a murder or other minor catastrophe, and we want to figure it out for ourselves.
All of these elements must be present for the story to work at its highest level. A great plot that has cardboard characters can go nowhere with us, because we won't care what happens next. Terrific characters who do unbelievable things or speak in lousy movie dialogue make even a brilliant storyline useless. And wonderfully fleshed-out characters will only limp along if the story is lame. We want the whole thing. There are writers who create this incredible balance again and again, and that's why we are recommending them. They give us the whole show.
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