Even though the main book giveaway is over, you can find out more about the book here. And you have until October 5 to win your very own copy of the book, so be sure to check that out on the post!
Trudy, Madly, Deeply by Wendy Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, this is yet another book that grew on me. When I began reading it, I wanted to like it. After all, it is set in the Pacific Northwest–I always want to support my “peeps.” But I truly struggled to enjoy the characters and the story. I was hoping with all my heart that I would finally take delight in the book.
As I have recommended in my reviews countless times, don’t give up on a book–especially during the first quarter to third of the book. There are situations that dictate a somewhat slow beginning, and this is the first in the series. Therefore, the author spends the necessary time to introduce the characters, conflict, etc. It is very common for the first in a series to not be as good as subsequent ones, and I do believe this will happen in later books.
Once the story got going, I found all the things that make a fantastic mystery–humor, romance, and suspicion. Furthermore, since the author focused attention on senior citizen murders, I was engrossed. There are not many mysteries that deal with the wrongful deaths of elderly people. Although I can’t identify with Char, I would venture to say that all of us have known someone like her!
In addition to the slow pace, I have one more minor criticism. I am not marking the book down for this reason, but it is something I need to point out for cozy mystery lovers like me. When I think of cozy mysteries, I think of minor profanity and no sex scenes. There are no sex scenes in the book, but there are some suggestive phrases (which are very tasteful). The profanity was much more rampant than I am used to reading in cozy mysteries. Some of the profanity is rather hardcore. While I could have done without the profanity, it was not overly problematic for me because of how it was used and who used it. But I did weary of it to a degree. Understand, this is just a caution for potential readers. I would certainly look for the next book in the series!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
