Book Review: Sweet Corn, Fields, Forever (R.J. Minnick)

Country music, love, jealousy, secrets, gambling and drugs weave a tangled, murderous web. Diminutive Dr. Mackenzie Wilder and her sweetheart, Detective Lt. Bryan Jamison, are back and hot on the trail. Someone’s killing the family and friends of country music star Tory McCloud, and framing her and her brand-new husband Jason Fields for the crimes. Can they catch the killer before something bad happens to Tory? And who the heck is joyriding in Mackie’s beloved antique wooden boats? Follow the trail from Nashville to rural upstate New York, Charlotte and Las Vegas in this gripping whodunit. Oh, you’re also invited to the quickie Vegas wedding and the Hallowe’en party back at Mackie’s place, so be sure to pack accordingly before you open the book.

In this second book of the Mackenzie Wilder Classic Boat series, the author alternates narration between Tory and Mackie in certain chapters. The complexity of the alternating narrative and the similar naming of the brother-sister country music duo lead to a few slips. In the last line of the Chapter 16 news story, for instance, the State Police are investigating the murder of the surviving sibling Tory, not the late Tyler. In Chapter 4, where Mackenzie is the narrator, there is an abrupt switch to Tory’s storytelling (using .pdf page numbers, it’s p. 25, para 7 in my editorial copy) for two sentences. There are also a few grammar items, like missing opening quotation marks, spaces between words and commas, but only a light sprinkling. The plot, characters, settings and development are all rock solid. I can’t help having read it three times now, and I’ll probably be back for more.

As stated in my previous review of Where the Bodies Lie Buried, I feel the cover art could be improved by substituting the chapter heading classic boat art for the photograph currently in place in the series header. Also, while the posters certainly pertain to the character’s passion for classic wooden boats, in thumbnails they don’t come across well. I can’t make out the words and art in the body unless I blow it up. However, the cowboy hat, guitar and treble clef are just enough to indicate the unique theme of this book. The ideas are good, they just need professional help. A crowdfunding campaign could take care of that and move these books to head and shoulders above the rest, where they rightfully belong.

I’m chompin’ at the bit for book three! C’mon, now…

 

UPDATE 7.9.2014: I’ve just been informed by the author that a) the first draft of book three is completed and b) new copies of books one and two are forthcoming, complete with proofreading and professional cover art. It may be a little while, but they are coming.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary editorial review copy. My opinions are my own.

 

Buy Sweet Corn, Fields, Forever at Smashwords

Book Review: Where the Bodies Lie Buried by R.J. Minnick

Fans of JoAnna Carl’s Chocoholic Mysteries, Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen Mysteries with Recipes, Kasey Michaels’ Sunshine Girls Capers and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman will enjoy Where the Bodies Lie Buried by R.J. Minnick as much as I do.

Where the Bodies Lie Buried is the first book in the MacKenzie Wilder Classic Boat Mysteries. Mackenzie, Mackie to her truest friends, is easy to identify with. She was the smart girl with the frizzy hair with a broken home and no boyfriends back in school. Now, she’s a middle-aged childless widow who used her late husband’s life insurance to become a family doctor. Her dream is to go home to rural New York State and restore her parents’ farm, along with some classic wooden boats.

Unfortunately, it’s kind of hard to restore a farm once it’s been designated a crime scene, with no resolution in sight. Skeletons, whether tucked away in a closet, a trunk, the medical examiner’s office, around the farm or all-too-human memories, have a way of complicating things. Particularly if your character of a dad, who’s presumed guilty of the 20yo crime, is no longer alive to defend himself. Add a divorced cop and a brilliant wealthy outsider competing for your attentions, as well as a baseball mom and her cousin blaming you for yet another party’s ancient crimes, and you’ve got Mackie’s welcome home. She could take the easy way out and just leave, but would you?

At first, I found the end of every fifth chapter to be a natural pause. However, from the end of Chapter 16 to the finish, it’s an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The cover art could be a bit better, maybe a photo of an old farm house, barn and flowery fields with the burnt orange boat graphic used in the chapter headings centered above like a publishing imprint, all on a white background, possibly with a different font style and size. At the moment, the words on the cover seem to overwhelm it. There are a handful of punctuation and other minor typos that Word would have caught, and one repeated error that it would have missed (planning versus planing, regarding wood), but they don’t interfere with the quality of the story. I only noticed them as an English major does. Character development, setting and plot are as flawless as the shine on Mackie’s prized wooden boats. I’m looking forward to diving into the next book in the series, Sweet Corn, Fields, Forever.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author. The above opinions are my own.

UPDATE 7.9.2014: I’ve just been informed by the author that a) the first draft of book three is completed and b) new copies of books one and two are forthcoming, complete with proofreading and professional cover art. It may be a little while, but they are coming.

Follow R.J. Minnick:

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8089125.R_J_Minnick

personal blog:  http://www.blackwatertales.blogspot.com/

series Facebook page:    https://www.facebook.com/MWCBauthorR.J.Minnick

Buy her books: http://www.rjmdreamweaver.com/buyrjm/

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