Author, blogger, book reviewer. © 2015 Bruce M. Perrin
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Thanks for picking up your free copy of Of Half a Mind as part of the "Bookend the Mind Sleuth Series" promotion.
Because of you (and 3600+ of your fellow readers), it hit number 1 in the Techno-Thriller genre and number 2 in Horror.
Happy reading.
Shattered is not only the title of the book, but also a good description of Logan McKenna’s life at the start of it. Her husband has died in a car crash and she gave up the business they had built from the ground up. So, she’s starting a new life as a substitute teacher and working over the summer with an old friend, Thomas, at his and his wife’s booth at an arts festival. Unfortunately, it looks like this new chapter could end in pieces as well. She’s accused of cheating on the job and Thomas is arrested for murder. So, Logan largely ignores her personal problem to help the friend she’s sure isn’t a killer.
Overall, the book has the feel of a cozy mystery with no sex and no profanity (unless I just missed it). There is violence in the murder scene, but it’s not graphic. And the story has a sweetness that’s typical of the genre. Logan is always running into old friends and making new ones, all of whom have time for her; no one slammed the door in her face when she started asking about the murder. Though apparently old enough to have a grown daughter, there is a youth and vibrancy to Logan. That characteristic is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in her romantic interest in a neighbor, with her concerns seeming more typical of a teenager than an adult. Basically, Shattered is not a violent mystery investigated by a hardboiled detective, but the woman next door, trying to build a new life and save a friend. And Logan’s definitely an amateur at the later, frequently admitting to herself she doesn’t know what she’s doing but muddling along until the murderer is revealed.
The detail given in some areas of the story seemed excessive, as they did little to move the plot forward. For example, “Lisa completely shredded the tissue, balled it up and placed it in the ashtray on the coffee table. Thomas still smoked.” In the midst of this emotional scene, do we need to know Thomas is a smoker? Would it make any difference if the ashtray was there for visitors? This is a first of a series, so some additional background is necessary, but things like descriptions of every meal Logan ate felt unnecessary. The larger distraction for me, however, was the author’s use of flashbacks and flashforwards. They were introduced at odd times; we got the thumbnail of the victim’s life, for example, after she’s dead. And some of the shifts in timeframe crossed chapters without warning. That confused me more than once.
Overall, Shattered is a solid start to a series and a good introduction to a female amateur sleuth worth following.
See on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3k14Gos
(I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.)
That's my way of saying that for three days only, August 18 to 20, you can get the first book and (currently) the last book of the Mind Sleuth Series for only 99 cents. Of Half a Mind, book #1, is free on Amazon. From the Mind of a Witch, book #4, is on sale for only 99 cents every where it is sold.
When you talk to yourself, there’s only one voice. When you look at something in your mind’s eye, there’s but one image.
Psychologist Sam “Doc” Price and his colleagues had always held those principles to be true … at least under normal circumstances. But as they studied the work of a brilliant but troubled neuroscientist, they discovered a device that created a reality that was anything but normal. And when they had unraveled its mysteries, the only question that remained was, could they survive the brutal truth?
Or listen for only $1.99: https://bit.ly/36qGgPi
Investigating a man's death during a coven ritual is a big first case for PI Rebecca Marte. It should be easy, as six pillars of the business community witnessed the killing. Unfortunately, her client wants the witch cleared.
And then, the case gets even stranger when the witch offers her defense nearly six months after the killing. She’s innocent by reason of possession. Thrust into that uncharted territory, she contacts her old friend, Dr. Sam “Doc” Price, to get help with her problem … and to help with his.
The Mind Sleuth Series: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8R4YB2/
Not worried about what’s lurking in the night?
And check out my entry, Of Half a Mind, available in Mobi, ePub, and PDF formats so you can read it on just about any eReader, tablet, or computer.
https://storyoriginapp.com/to/nDUdRCn