BOOK REVIEW: Summer Reading Summary

This has been a very busy time. Summer theater schedules are winding down; school schedules starting up; garden vegetables waiting to be processed. You know the routine. As a result, my reading has been light and fun. I did find two new authors who might be of interest to you... if you are not familiar with them.

I have been meaning to try Erica Spindler for sometime so picked DEAD RUN from a stack beside the bed. I was glad that I finally got around to her.

Liz Ames has a message on her answering machine from her sister Rachel that causes her to rush to Key West, Florida. Rachel is pastor of Paradise Christian Church and no one seems to know what happened, only that she has disappeared. Within hours of Liz’s arrival two ritualistic killings take place. The style is hauntingly similar to those committed by the “New Testament” killer who is currently on death row. 

Not able to get the police or neighbors to help or even to be concerned, Liz calls on Rick Wells, a former Miami policeman who worked on the “New Testament” case. They discover that they have aroused a terrifying enemy and an unspeakable evil in this paradise.

I liked DEAD RUN. The characters were well developed and the plot full of twists and turns. There was just a touch of the supernatural to the story, just enough to have the reader wondering. Erica Spindler is a keeper.

Kathleen O’Brien’s HAPPILY EVER AFTER was not as tightly written as the Spindler book, but I have to admit that I did not figure who was the guilty party until the end and then I felt slightly cheated.

Ten years ago Thomas Beckham walked away from the church and his bride-to-be. He could not marry her after being witness to something that he could not forgive, nor could he confide in anyone.

Ten years have passed and Kelly Ralston,along with the other members of the wedding party have gotten on with their lives. After attending the funeral of her friend and fellow bridesmaid from that long ago wedding, Kelly discovers that the members of the wedding party are dying in the order that they appeared in the rehearsal picture. Kelly is next in line.

I liked the main characters in this book, but felt that the author was not consistent in some of the others. It felt as if the inconsistencies were meant to keep the reader off balance about who was committing the murders. When the denouement finally happens it is almost a let down.  There are so many really good authors of suspense out there; Kathleen O’Brien did not overly impress me.