Hard Christmas
Written: Feb 04 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The main character is not perfect and realizes it
Cons: It took a while for the mystery to start
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| Rocketgirl's Full Review: D'Amato, Barbara |
This is the third book that I have read in Barbara D'Amato's series featuring Cat Marsala. Cat is a freelance journalist in Chicago, who always seems to get mixed up in a mystery.
This time Cat is spending Thanksgiving weekend at a Christmas tree farm on the shores of Lake Michigan. She is working on a story about running a tree farm, the harvest, and getting the trees to market. While there, she never dreams that she'll get mixed up in a murder mystery.
Ms. D'Amato has a very straightforward writing style. There are no long stretches of narrative, nor disproportionately long stretches of dialogue either. This makes the flow and the pace of the book very smooth and compels the reader to continue. The chapters are short, with a blank page separating each one, which made the book a fast read. I can also identify with Cat, who is a professional woman who is curious about the world around her.
Though it took eighty pages or so for the "detective work" to start, you didn't really notice it. This was because there was a subplot going on, which dealt with Cat's friendship with the young girl Nell, whose father works at the tree farm. Cat finds herself warming up to this girl, even though she has never really considered herself a "kid" person. For me, the story was worth reading for that aspect alone.
I really enjoyed this book, especially since the "bad guy" was the last person I suspected. I have also enjoyed "Hard Luck," and "Hard Case," by the same author.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Rocketgirl
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 in Books |
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Member: Beth
Location: Tri-Cities, WA
Reviews written: 398
Trusted by: 224 members
About Me:
So many books, so little time.
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