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Book Review of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
reviewed on + 160 more book reviews


Here is a review from Amazon that hits the nail on the head!:

As several other reviewers have pointed out, the heroine doesn't seem to possess enough brain matter to complete a simple crossword puzzle, never mind work on her PhD while simultaneously solving a Big Mystery. Plus, there is the house that doesn't decay through time and neglect, although I guess we could believe it has a handy magic spell protecting it from wood-rot, mice, and holes in the roof. And seriously, if you are on the hunt for a missing book, maybe you could explore the actual house where you found the big clue.

The average reader picks up the clues entire chapters before our Hapless Connie figures them out, and often has to stop reading long enough for her to catch up. And when Connie had the big revelation that her real name was Constance???? Did she really forget her own name? Considering that the main characters are called Deliverance, Mercy, Prudence and Grace, is it too much to ask that Connie picks up on the fact that her own biblically inspired moniker might be relevant?

Plus, the author clearly has an issue with shop clerks and library staff; almost every single one is rude and unhelpful and makes Poor Connie do all the nasty grunt work herself.

I think this book was set in 1991 so that Connie would not have access to the Internet. A few hours on Google or Wikipedia might have solved the mystery in an afternoon.

And if you want to write a story set in another era, feel free to sprinkle the dialogue with "thou" and "thee", but please refrain from using phonetic spellings of the local dialect.

Thas booke maihde my heade hurte.