Category: Book Reviews

COMING SOON. MONTHLY BOOK REVIEW OF ONE BOOK READ DURING THE MONTH.

Book Reviews, Front Page

Scribbling Scrivener Reads: The Stravinsky Intrigue by Darin Kennedy

DH Hanni

This month’s book review is the sequel to The Mussorgsky Riddle by Darin Kennedy. The Stravinsky Intrigue follows psychic Mira Tejedor as she is called upon to solve why little girls are suddenly leaving home only to be found unresponsive and in some kind of undefinable coma state. Also like The Mussorgsky Riddle, the answer seems to lie in the labyrinth mind of Anthony Faircloth. This time instead of being obsessed with Mussorgsky, he’s obsessed with Igor Stravinsky, specifically his “Firebird” ballet.

The book opens with Mira days away from making a permanent move to Charlotte to be closer to her boyfriend, psychologist Dr. Thomas Archer. In a few days her daughter will be joining her, but when the first little girl disappears and is found a day later in the middle of a park, not suffering from physical trauma but some kind of psychological trauma, her attention is diverted. Quickly she notices the similarity between the girl’s state and what happened to Anthony Faircloth the previous year. At first Mira wonders if Anthony somehow has something to do with it. The situation further escalates as more little girls follow the same pattern and a new possible suspect comes into play. With Mira’s contact with them and Anthony, she is soon sucked into an equally bizarre world as the one she was trapped in The Mussorgsky Riddle.

What I liked about this book is though it is a sequel, it’s one that lives up to the expectations set forth in the first book. Without the need to explain Mira’s abilities, the book is able to focus more on some of the supporting characters and tests the relationships between Mira and Dr. Archer and Anthony’s mother who is extremely reluctant to allow a much recovered Anthony from being dragged into the psychic link he and Mira have in order to help solve the case. All the characters returning from the first book are still interesting and develop further.

The twist in the book is well-done and Kennedy does a great job of getting the reader to question who is really behind the sinister plot. As you read you think it’s one person then another then you’re not sure at all until the twist occurs. It comes at a plausible point in the story without totally catching the reader off guard.

The pacing of The Stravinsky Intrigue is quite good though I think it was rushed a tad as more little girls turn up in the strange comatose state, but I don’t think the reader needs twelve different scenes. It would drag the story down.

Along with the pacing of the book, I think the ending was strong. Like the first book, it ties up the story and is not a cliffhanger as so often happens in a series. Though this is a sequel, it can be read without having read the first book. A reader doing that will not be lost, in my opinion. I actually like that as too often as a reader I’ve been frustrated to pick up an interesting looking book only to discover it’s not the first book in a series.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 5 pencils, I give The Stravinsky Intrigue 4.5 pencils. A worthy and interesting sequel and I can’t wait for the next book.

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Book Reviews, Front Page

Scribbling Scrivener Reads: Murder Swings the Tide by Linda Shirley Robertson

DH Hanni

This month’s book review comes courtesy of a murder mystery set on fictional Seward Island off the South Carolina coast. In Murder Swings the Tide by Linda Shirley Robertson we meet interior designer Maggie Stewart who goes to Seaward for a much needed vacation and to re-evaluate her life. Within her first day, though, she discovers a dead body of a young art student. She clashes with the local sheriff believing he isn’t taking the cases serious despite this being the first murder on the island in quite a while. Deciding to launch her own investigation she enlists the help of several residents. Along the way she enters the first stages of developing a romance with one of the lifelong residents.

Murder Swings the Tide is extremely problematic. Everything from the main character to supporting characters to the plot to the prose to the pacing of the novel, it’s less than 200 pages, doesn’t work for me.

First, let’s start with Maggie Stewart. She’s incredibly irritating, egotistical, condescending, and judgmental. It was very difficult for me to buy her as someone smart enough to solve a murder better than the sheriff. For some reason she believes he’s not taking it seriously and is constantly asking him where he’s at with the investigation. She bugs him with her half-baked theories, all based on conjecture and no real evidence. It’s as if she’s watched watch too much “Law & Oder” and fancies herself some kind of expert.

In the beginning of the book she wasn’t too terrible. But as the murder investigation goes along, the more grating she becomes. For some reason she believes “employing” some of the dumber locals to help her makes sense. Never mind one of them is one of the most unreliable characters I’ve ever read. She’s incredibly judgmental upon meeting many of the locals, viewing them as stupid yokels. She shows her insecurity when meeting a lifelong friend of a guy she’s interested in. Immediately she writes the woman off as a bitch, she is overbearing and abrasive, and concludes the two are having an affair. As written there was nothing to suggest to the reader this is true. Not sure how she came to this conclusion no matter how many times he explains to Maggie the woman was his dead sister’s best friend.

The supporting characters are caricatures. Despite the author living in the south, she still writes many of the supporting characters as negative stereotypes. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the cast of characters we meet in the local bar (or saloon as it was referred to earlier in the book). Pretty much they are dumb white trash types who need Maggie to save them and show them they can do better in their lives. Even Maggie’s potential love interest is just a caricature; stereotypical rich guy from a well-established family who is firmly anti-development. He’s boring though I do appreciate he’s a nice guy.

The plot is ridiculous, again because of how much of a pain Maggie is. It’s completely possible for a non-law enforcement person to be a competent investigator. Plenty of mystery series feature such characters such as Miss Marple and Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey. The plot doesn’t work because the motive for the murder is thin and the person who committed it suddenly goes into psycho mode. There’s no evidence to support it, other than the scene where the killer pulls the “This is how I did it and if it weren’t for you meddling, I would have gotten away with it!” There’s an unnecessary subplot only vaguely related to the murder in that a couple of people involved she thought were suspects.

The prose of Murder Swings the Tide is incredibly stilted. Too many short sentences. Ordered oddly. As if Robertson was in the draft stages of the story. This doesn’t make for smooth or interesting reading. Descriptions are generic. The dialogue is often silly and makes little sense. When she tries to write in dialect for the locals, she makes them sound stupid and uneducated.

The pacing of the book is all over the place. It starts off at a reasonable clip, but then the last third of the book just plows through things as if Robertson was told by the editor to hurry up and just end it. Unlike a lot of mysteries where there’s tension, this book doesn’t have it. I never felt Maggie’s life was in danger other than in her mind.

Overall Murder Swings the Tide was one of those books I should have stopped reading. It’s a mess and doesn’t work as a murder mystery. One a scale of 1 to 5 pencils, I give it 1 pencil because there’s a puppy named Possum in it.

Book Reviews, Front Page

Scribbling Scrivener Reads: Clover by Dori Sanders

DH Hanni

Clover by Dori Sanders is set in 1980s rural South Carolina. Told from the point of view of ten-year-old Clover, a bright girl who has already seen a lot of tragedy in her young life, the story is about her and her new stepmother dealing with the unexpected death of her father. Further complicating matters is Clover is black and her stepmother, Sara Kate, is white. The two barely know each other as her father is killed in a car crash the day of his wedding.

I really enjoyed the book especially as Sanders really captured the voice of Clover; something I think is difficult to successful pull off. Clover comes across as smart and wise, but not in a matter that ever comes across as precocious or false.

One of two big themes of the book are relationships, primarily Clover’s complicated relationship with the grown-ups in her life in addition to the relationships the grown-ups have with each other. Her relationship with her father, principal at her elementary school and which is told through flashbacks starts off strained. Initially Clover had been raised by her grandfather after her mother died. Now that her father is close by, he wishes to take over the caretaker duties. Because of this, she almost nearly refers to her father by his first name, something Gaten never corrects. Gaten is a good person and a good father, mature enough to recognize he has to earn the title of “Dad”.

A pattern develops with Clover in having a difficult time trusting her caregivers when Sara Kate becomes her stepmother. Like Gaten, Sara Kate doesn’t press Clover to accept her as a parent, mainly because she’s going through her own grief. She gives her new stepdaughter space to process her grief as well though an incident happens which causes Sara Kate to wonder if Clover is holding in her grief in an unhealthy way. As the reader sees with Gaten, Sara Kate eventually earns Clover’s love and trust, which rankles Clover’s Aunt Everleen.

Another major theme is race. Sanders is honest in how Clover’s family reacts to Sara Kate. In a way she’s a little bit subtle because as a reader it wasn’t apparent for several pages Clover was black. It’s only when Sara Kate is introduced that the reader is made aware. Gaten’s family, primarily the women, and an ex-girlfriend have the biggest issue with Sara Kate. Aunt Everleen and others believe it was a mistake Gaten married a white woman believing Sara Kate must have some defect if a white man wouldn’t love her. Because of the color of her skin, no one is willing to reach out to her and get to know her or even offer words of comfort and support. It doesn’t matter Sara Kate is nice (a bit too passive in my opinion) and makes an effort to be part of her new family. Prejudices run rampant until near the end of the book. The attitude of Clover’s family affects how she sees and treats Sara Kate initially. When Clover and Sara Kate start to get to know each, Clover starts defending Sara Kate in front of her Aunt Everleen. She’s rebuked, made to feel as if she’s betraying her family and ultimately, her race.

I enjoyed the characters though it personally frustrates me as a reader to see how if people just communicated a lot of problems wouldn’t exist. I appreciate how Sanders allows the characters to take their time in grieving Gaten, but to realize everyone has a common goal: to care for Clover, a girl surrounded by love. I appreciate the awkwardness Clover and Sara Kate have toward each other. It’s realistic and dealt with sensitivity.

I also enjoyed how Sanders uses the setting of small town South Carolina. Probably because I live in South Carolina, very near to many of the towns mentioned, that it was incredibly ease for me to immerse myself in the world. I know what the weather feels like and I’ve seen peach stands in the area (South Carolina actually produces more peaches than Georgia).

My only grip with Clover is the ending. It felt too abrupt and I would have liked to see the story continue on as the changes in the characters were just starting to happen. But perhaps that’s the point of the novel. It’s ultimately about watching these characters come to the beginning of understanding.

Overall, I give Clover four pencils out of five. It’s a quick read and while sad and deals with heavy issues, it’s not a downer.