Search - Bleeding Kansas

I was very disappointed with this book. I have always enjoyed Sara Paretsky's writing; while I knew this one was going to be different, it fell short for me in many areas.

The farming aspect. for the most part, seemed to be well researched. The steps involved for organic certification seemed to be a great deal quicker than normal and I didn't understand why they were transplanting sunflowers when they do so well planted directly in the ground. This was odd enough to take me completely out of the story. As were a few comments made by characters early in the book.

The main problem, for me, was I just didn't like any of the characters. Susan was just too much of a manic-depressive and the kids seemed to be spoiled brats. Lara/Lulu had possibility, she was the reason I kept reading, but her age seemed to vary a good bit. And just when I would start to like her, she would do something incredibly stupid that would seem out of character. The Wiccan/witchcraft aspect was never really brought into the story and I was disappointed.

I might have been able to forgive the unlikable characters, but at the beginning of the book you meet so many characters and the point of view changes so much, I had to keep re-reading to make sure I was keeping everyone straight. I also kept expecting the characters to use cell phones or computers, as we were getting a fairly detailed account of their daily lives. However it isn't until the midway point that these modern tools make their way into the narrative. It really felt like the book covered several years, instead of months.

I visited Sara Paretsky's website and it told about how she came to write the book and it did make the book more interesting. While I'm glad I read it, I wish I hadn't picked it up on impulse and paid full price.

I enjoyed this mix of mystery and hisory of Kansas. A very good read.