Monday, June 13, 2016

One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review

The Alpine Scandal by Mary Daheim

The Alpine Scandal is the nineteenth book in the Emma Lord mysteries. My housemate and I decided to read it to catch up on on-going series. Too date, this series has twenty-six books, so we’re a little bit behind. And it is my goal to catch up on our series this year, at least as much as is possible.

As far as this installment, let me start by saying, it would definitely help if you had read at least one of the previous books in the series, but the author does a very good job of introducing and connecting the recurring, regular characters.

It’s an interesting book for the main characters, and changes in relationships are evident, though none happen in this book. Sometimes the overarching story is more important and others the immediate mystery is more important. In this one, the immediate story is the main focus, but it does not overshadow the hints of what is to come in the overarching, continuing story.

The main mystery is a full of red herrings, and the final solution is a surprise, though it feels as though it was cobbled together after the author wrote herself into a corner. It wasn’t quite a copout solution, but it didn’t feel as though it was the ending of this murder. But then again, I’m so used to reading books that have been edited to leave in only the important information, that maybe the author and editor decided to go in a different, more true-to-life, direction.

I enjoyed the book, and I am excited to see where the overarching story with the main characters goes, given the hints that are being dropped in this adventure. I would still recommend that new readers to the series start at the beginning, but even if you don’t, this is an enjoyable mystery.

One Bear’s Opinion: Three glasses of Dr. Pepper while enjoying a yummy diner dinner with your brother

Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver

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