If you like a well written murder mystery this book is for you. It begins with a scientist studying the springs in north Florida and how they connect, the pollution of them, and the ever present affect of growth in this area is having its affect on the area around Apalachicola Florida is murdered in an unusual way. The main character is a recent widow who has come to Apalachicola from Gainesville to be in a play, and turns sleuth. I found it well written and enjoyable.
Gina Ruth S. (Shadygrove) -
I looked forward to reading this one -- Wakulla Springs, Florida, is one of my favorite spots, well worth a visit if you are ever in North Florida. Beautiful, beautiful place, somewhat magical!
Not a whole lot of the action of this "eco-mystery" actually takes place at Wakulla -- though the murder does -- but those familiar with the area also will recognize a lot of other place names. Apalachicola figures prominently, along with Tallahassee, Eastpoint, Crawfordville, and a fictional town, Fairport. The ecological issues these places face and upon which the story touches are plenty real enough ... and I hope that showcasing them in fiction helps draw attention to them.
The storyline in this mystery, which I believe is "self-published", is far from shatteringly original but serves well enough to keep up the interest most of the time. The author, M.D. Abrams, is no great stylist but she isn't without some talent for narrative and characterization ... the book is "readable" but not as polished as it might be. Hope she'll keep at writing, though, because she has the raw material right, just needs to refine it and develop it further, in my opinion.
This story, as the second in "A North Florida Mystery" series, apparently builds upon an earlier title by Abrams (Murder on the Prairie), which I haven't read, and features the same "actress/sometime-sleuth" lead character. There's a fine line, when continuing a series, between repeating too much from earlier installments and confusing the reader by vaguely referring to unexplained "past history" -- hard to balance that. I felt a little in the dark at times with this book when past events were mentioned, but, on the other hand, I was left thinking I might try to get hold of the first book in the series to get the "back story". (Despite this book's weaknesses, I did come away thinking the author tells a good enough story to consider reading her first one.)
One thing that would have improved this read a lot: BETTER EDITING! I'm not even talking about the type of editing that polishes the style or shifts part of the narrative -- just simple copy editing! "Typo" kinds of errors and grammar "slips" (the kind where you feel sure the author KNEW better and probably flinched when she saw the goof in the final product)crop up early on in the book and keep coming thick enough to be distracting, annoying, and, once or twice, downright humorous. Kind of breaks the flow.
While it wasn't all I'd hoped for, the book did hold my attention (in spite of all those typos!)and give some enjoyment -- so I'll recommend it -- as long as you note what I've already said here -- especially to those who, like me, have a fondness for the locale.
(I'd had this book wishlisted on PBS for a while but finally ended up buying a copy off eBay -- it's not too surprising, I guess, that a self-published "print on-demand" book isn't too plentiful. Hope the copy I'm about to post into the system will "make the rounds" to the several folks who've been waiting on the wish list along with me.)
Not a whole lot of the action of this "eco-mystery" actually takes place at Wakulla -- though the murder does -- but those familiar with the area also will recognize a lot of other place names. Apalachicola figures prominently, along with Tallahassee, Eastpoint, Crawfordville, and a fictional town, Fairport. The ecological issues these places face and upon which the story touches are plenty real enough ... and I hope that showcasing them in fiction helps draw attention to them.
The storyline in this mystery, which I believe is "self-published", is far from shatteringly original but serves well enough to keep up the interest most of the time. The author, M.D. Abrams, is no great stylist but she isn't without some talent for narrative and characterization ... the book is "readable" but not as polished as it might be. Hope she'll keep at writing, though, because she has the raw material right, just needs to refine it and develop it further, in my opinion.
This story, as the second in "A North Florida Mystery" series, apparently builds upon an earlier title by Abrams (Murder on the Prairie), which I haven't read, and features the same "actress/sometime-sleuth" lead character. There's a fine line, when continuing a series, between repeating too much from earlier installments and confusing the reader by vaguely referring to unexplained "past history" -- hard to balance that. I felt a little in the dark at times with this book when past events were mentioned, but, on the other hand, I was left thinking I might try to get hold of the first book in the series to get the "back story". (Despite this book's weaknesses, I did come away thinking the author tells a good enough story to consider reading her first one.)
One thing that would have improved this read a lot: BETTER EDITING! I'm not even talking about the type of editing that polishes the style or shifts part of the narrative -- just simple copy editing! "Typo" kinds of errors and grammar "slips" (the kind where you feel sure the author KNEW better and probably flinched when she saw the goof in the final product)crop up early on in the book and keep coming thick enough to be distracting, annoying, and, once or twice, downright humorous. Kind of breaks the flow.
While it wasn't all I'd hoped for, the book did hold my attention (in spite of all those typos!)and give some enjoyment -- so I'll recommend it -- as long as you note what I've already said here -- especially to those who, like me, have a fondness for the locale.
(I'd had this book wishlisted on PBS for a while but finally ended up buying a copy off eBay -- it's not too surprising, I guess, that a self-published "print on-demand" book isn't too plentiful. Hope the copy I'm about to post into the system will "make the rounds" to the several folks who've been waiting on the wish list along with me.)
