Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read-Kept Me Turning Pages!, Nov 6 2003
This is the first I've read of Nancy Pickard's books, and I liked it very well. Marie Lightfoot is the main character and she is writing a true crime novel on a charming minister's love affair with a beautiful wealthy church member. His wife Susanna is murdered in the process, and no one really knows who the guilty one is. The accused sits on death row, while his lover will walk free. Justice looks as though it has been served, but Marie knows better. She realizes there is a lot more skeletons in the closet that others don't know about, and she is going to work until she figures it out. But she better watch out, as she may learn a bone-chilling lesson in the process.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
A page turner, Sep 30 2003
This is a tightly written book that overtly pits good against evil, and until the very end the reader does not know which is which. The characters and dialogue are so sharply observed and clearly limned that they no longer seem like characters and dialogue, but part of your world. The setting is Florida. I've never been there, but now I know the feeling of the place. The story starts with the death of a minister's wife. He is a charismatic, widely respected man of high moral principles, but he may have been cheating with a beautiful woman, a member of his congregation. The plot has depth and many unexpected twists and the sleuth is a woman that most women will be able to identify with. The writer uses viewpoint in an original way (or variety of ways) and this makes the tale more immediate and dramatic. I loved this book as a good story well told, but I was even more impressed with the way the writer adressed the moral dilemmas surrounding the issue of capital punishment. No preaching. No moralizing. Enjoy the story and draw your own conclusions.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Read, Dec 14 2001
This review is from: RING OF TRUTH (Hardcover)
This is a mystery with a difference! Our heroine, Marie Lightfoot, is not a lawyer, police officer, private detective or journalist for starters. She is a best-selling True Crime novelist. What vistas this opens up for a series! She has every reason to be nosing around the crime scene, the courtroom, the witnesses and families of victims; and she has no boring boss to slow her down. She has a highly comfortable life style, easily explained. Marie has no background, so the reader is sure to exercise his/her own imagination. I have always felt Kinsey Mahone was far more effective before Sue Grafton hung a back story around her neck giving her a plethora or relatives and details about an ex-husband. Marie switches from first person observation to chapters from her current manuscript with the lackluster title, "Anything To Be Together." It is the story of a charismatic minister convicted of beating his attractive wife to death, probably with the aid and assistance of his girlfriend. Rev. Wing is awaiting execution on Death Row. Ironically, the rector has received much local publicity in the past for his anti-death penalty activism. She has just completed the text, but feels dissatisfied with parts of it, particularly the lack of background and insights on the principal players. The plot is excellent, complex with a labyrinth of twists and turns. There are a few attitudes that boggle my mind, but perhaps that is just me. Ms. Pickard is a fine writer and has created a thoroughly likeable heroine. A fine read.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|