Helpful Score: 3
I don't know why I read these collaborative novels. Okay, that's not quite true. Usually it's because one of my favorite authors wrote a chapter. In this case, that would be Jennifer Crusie. And when I hit chapter ten, I could feel the tension that had been building inside me with every successive chapter suddenly ease. Crusie wrote with her usual clarity, painting pictures in my mind with the subtlety of her prose. I felt like I'd come home to an old friend. The rest of the book was not so good. About a third of the other chapters were easy to read (only one made me think about reading more by that author.) Chapter 8 by Julie Smith was, IMO, so over the top that I'll never touch anything of hers. The rest of the chapter were (again my opinion) so badly written that I'm embarrassed for the authors.
That said, I admit that this type of mystery has never been on my list of must reads. They almost always have too many characters to keep straight without a scorecard. They almost always withhold vital clues (also know as making them up at the last minute to rescue the poorly crafted plot) so the reader has no chance to figure out who the killer is until the author chooses to reveal it. Not my idea of fun. I'm thinking that no matter who the authors are, this is my last collaborative novel.
That said, I admit that this type of mystery has never been on my list of must reads. They almost always have too many characters to keep straight without a scorecard. They almost always withhold vital clues (also know as making them up at the last minute to rescue the poorly crafted plot) so the reader has no chance to figure out who the killer is until the author chooses to reveal it. Not my idea of fun. I'm thinking that no matter who the authors are, this is my last collaborative novel.
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