Chris Writing Anything

I spent my day alternating between reading and cleaning. The book I read, which was written by Lynn Cahoon, was titled Murder in Waiting. It’s set in a California beach town, where murder happens often.

I don’t know how I felt about this one. It seemed as if it started really slow. It takes a while, where the mundane California life seems almost too laid back, before the murder takes place. And while the murder plot was fine, the culprits were pretty obvious, so was the motive.

I also felt Lynn’s voice was inconsistent. At times, it was masterful, some of the best prose I’d ever read. Although, other times, I often stumbled and slogged through paragraphs. I also felt the clarity was lacking. Mainly, when the dialogue shifted from one character to the other, I was often confused as to who was talking.

And for some reason, all the main characters, which included the local South Cove detective, the feds and the murderers, meet by chance in Las Vegas…that was weird. I’m not really attracted to Vegas, so I didn’t care for that part. I’d have much rather spent my time in South Cove, which is the California beach town.

The author also talks about food a lot, and, in a brief bit at the end of the book, the author admits it. But, to tell the truth, while that strayed from my normal read, that wasn’t what bothered me.

I just felt that I really didn’t empathize with the character, and, at times, I felt, how would I put it, I guess I felt like I was inferior to the character. What I mean is, when possibly confronted with a would be assailant, the character was worried about what would happen to her dog. I kind of felt ashamed, because, actually, put in the same position, while my canine might be in the back of my mind, because I am a dog lover, I’d probably be more concerned with me. I’d hate to say it, and I wouldn’t want harm to come to the dog, but I’d be focused on how I was going to get out of that jam.

Other parts were a blast to read however.

I guess I’m on the fence about this one. It definitely wasn’t the worst read of the year, but it was far from the best. Yet, stuck in a tiny home, sheltering myself from a fairly cool Wisconsin March day, it was fun to imagine myself running on the sands of a California beach.

Take Care and Safe Travels!