Right up front, I want to admit that this was a complimentary Kindle copy for an honest review. I know the author through GoodReads and have read othe...moreRight up front, I want to admit that this was a complimentary Kindle copy for an honest review. I know the author through GoodReads and have read other books by him. He knows I do not like mysteries as my favorite genre. All that still holds true. But his mysteries are at least not from the eyes of the murderer but from the detective trying to sort it all out.
I have to also admit to smiling, and laughing out loud at the way L.H. Thomson's tongue in cheek, sometimes even cheesy phrases emerged when I wasn't expecting it. Case in point involves a gaze toward the skies. (Trying not to drop a spoiler.) I have grown to love this priest-turned-agnostic-detective, Max Castillo. He is self deprecating without making you want to throw up. He treats everyone with slight disdain yet respect. He isn't so much a womanizer like others of his ilk and blames his former religion. In fact, his woman friend is often the one who sees the answers first. She just doesn't want to play detective.
Since I haven't had the opportunity to travel to Spain, I must admit this series has made me think about it. I can't say how true to life Mr. Thomson's descriptions are, but he does give the country, especially the beaches, an appealing draw.
I would have given this 5 stars but there were places that the editor missed, I'm afraid. I don't know if they are places that show up when just reading, but text-to-speech, which is the way I read most often, brings little flubs up glaringly. When those happen I do stop the tts and look to make sure it isn't just the computerized voice screwing up. [TTS says n-p-s when it sees insp. That usually makes me laugh. Oh, mm. is millimeters which sounds funny when alluding to a gun.] But there were true grammatical, but mostly spelling errors, that could have been missed with human eyes alone. Not a lot of them, mind you. In this day of the independent publishing I have read far worse. Some of which were so bad I had to stop reading. This story kept me going. I wanted to see what Max would come up with, or what happened to him. And the other reason for the lack of one star, mysteries not being my favorite genre
I have read a lot of LH's books and what I can say is he does keep the story interesting and his characters fun. The plots aren't hopeless messes (as I have found with mysteries most often) but situational stories that make you want to read more.
This felt Heinleinish! I love this kind of speculative science. Other worldly, alien beings=Earthlings, not the indigenous. The problems of two brains...moreThis felt Heinleinish! I love this kind of speculative science. Other worldly, alien beings=Earthlings, not the indigenous. The problems of two brains in one head. And Ms. Baldwin is brave enough to show love comes in many ways. There is intrigue which made this a bad book for bedtime as I couldn't put it down. I must admit it was slow starting but the set-up was needed. As opposed to other second books, this one could be a read alone, or out of order, as everything is explained without being bogged down in details.
I took my time with this book mostly due to my health. But had I been feeling great I think it would have been a book that would take a couple days.
The characters were well developed, except when they weren't. ;) When adult people can be reproduced they take a while to come into their own skin. The plot kept me wondering, how will they do this? Why is he/she acting like this? Can we really trust this guy? Or why doesn't she trust him? It just keeps you guessing. I loved it!
This was a free for review from the author. But had I bought it I would have said all I said above. It is my kind of book! Oh, and I love the afterwords, all of them. Thanks for sharing that much about the making of/writing of Friday and her works and playlist!(less)
Kudos, Ms. Karen Tyrrell, for the courage to tell your personal story and your struggles with your bipolar demons. Having second hand dealings with a...moreKudos, Ms. Karen Tyrrell, for the courage to tell your personal story and your struggles with your bipolar demons. Having second hand dealings with a mother who had undiagnosed bipolar, I was glad to see that you were able to get the help and support you needed. It is a most devastating disorder/illness. I am glad to have read this and know more of the process of diagnoses and the various coping mechanisms you learned along the way. Thank you for sharing your story. (less)
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