Helpful Score: 9
I always like cozies with little built-in puzzles sprinkled throughout the story, and that's what I thought this would be. I was very wrong. The main character, Savannah Stone, creates number puzzles for newspapers, however, not a single one appears anywhere in the book. The "big" puzzle (clues being left by the killer) was so uninteresting, and almost completely irrelevant, that I never bothered to try to solve it.
The characters were paint-by-numbers cliches, and the conversations between Savannah and her husband, a retired police chief, made me feel like I was going to overload on sugary sweetness. Throw in a lonely multi-millionaire who wants to be BFFs after a few minutes, an unsolved family mystery, old friends acting oddly, and you've got the perfect recipe for another boring, improbable story.
The whole thing was unflinchingly formulaic - right down to the killer who explains his motives while trying to kill our brave heroine. No real suspense, no real-life situations, no entertaining puzzles, one-dimensional characters, and way too many words. Cut out all the "I love you" - "No, I love you" - "No, I love you more" dialogue and descriptions of how beautiful the scenery was and it might have been long enough for a short story. But it would still need a plot.
The characters were paint-by-numbers cliches, and the conversations between Savannah and her husband, a retired police chief, made me feel like I was going to overload on sugary sweetness. Throw in a lonely multi-millionaire who wants to be BFFs after a few minutes, an unsolved family mystery, old friends acting oddly, and you've got the perfect recipe for another boring, improbable story.
The whole thing was unflinchingly formulaic - right down to the killer who explains his motives while trying to kill our brave heroine. No real suspense, no real-life situations, no entertaining puzzles, one-dimensional characters, and way too many words. Cut out all the "I love you" - "No, I love you" - "No, I love you more" dialogue and descriptions of how beautiful the scenery was and it might have been long enough for a short story. But it would still need a plot.
Helpful Score: 5
Savannah Stone is a happily married younger-than 40 yo, whose husband was forced to retire from the policy dept due to a stabbing. She writes popular number puzzles, of which we don't see any, and helps her husband solve his consultant police cases. According to the story, though, she does more than just help: she gets deeply involved. The writing is easy to read, and the criminal makes sense: things fit. Some of the issues are apparent early on, while others do take much of the book to solve. All in all, it is a good book for lighter reading.
Joy L. (vintagejoy) -
Helpful Score: 4
Another series by Tim Myers, now writing as Casey Mayes. I enjoyed the book, the plot lines were good and there were a number of red herrings thrown across the path. Will definately read the next book. However, I did find the husband and wife team a little intense, I geuss is the best word for it. It seemed a given that Savannah (wife) would just jump right in and help Zach (husband) with his murder investigation. Savannah is the creator of number puzzles and Zach is a retired policeman from Charlotte, NC who now works as a consultant and has been asked to assist with a double murder case and threats by the killer against the mayor, who is a long time friend of them both. There are vague suggestions that Savannah has helped her husband in the past, no details. Kind of feels like there should have been a book before this one. That all being said, it really was good and I look forward to the next in the series. Nice light reading. Really like Tim Myers writing.
