Murder at the Courthouse is intended to be a small-town,
cozy mystery. On this, Gabhart both
succeeds and falls short.
Small-town
fiction tends to be heavy on character development—quirks, gossips,
kind-hearted souls, and the like.
Gabhart gets that nearly perfect.
Her characters really become people to whom you feel connected, even
after “knowing” them for such a short time.
This is especially important in a series which hopes to build on those
characters and our affinity for them. Courthouse is the first in “A Hidden
Springs Mystery” series. It is published
by Revell so is a Christian book, but it isn’t overt or preachy, which I
appreciate.
Where
Gabhart fell short was on the mystery end.
It is a cozy, and I love cozies.
However, from the moment the body is found, Gabhart failed to bury any
of her clues enough to keep me guessing.
The only reason I wasn’t positive who had committed the murders was because
I kept telling myself it couldn’t be as obvious as it was. Instead, every page left me more convinced as
clues were left in the open. I solved
the crime faster than the hero, Deputy Michael Keane and wasn’t left guessing
about anything, including the motive.
Overall,
though the lack of mystery and even lightly hidden clues was disappointing,
this early introduction to the characters (both living and dead) may bring me
back for more of Hidden Springs. But it
won’t be at the top of my mystery list.
Disclosure:
I received this book free from Revell through the Revell Reads Blog Tour
program. The opinions I have expressed
are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the
Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
No comments:
Post a Comment