The Mystery Starts Here

I believe I’ve read all of Sandford’s “Prey” books but I give up. They have been getting  worse and worse until – I’ve decided never to read one again. At 402 pages, the book was far too long. I noticed a lot of padding, long boring conversations that basically had nothing to do with the plot. Also, there was a long subplot about Lucas’ adopted daughter, Letty, that was beyond ridiculous. I read the book in which Lucas met Lottie – it wasn’t that good either, but I liked the spunky teenager. In “Wicked,” she a lying, stealing, manipulative bitch who gets people hurt. I didn’t like her one bit.

I think part of the reason for the decline in quality of Sandford’s books is that fact that he’s writing about all of Lucas’ family! Who cares? He’s supposed to be a tough cop! Well, not any more. I’m not sure why Sandford decided to have Weather (Weather? Where the hell did that name come from???) have a child, but she promptly turned the baby over to the housekeeper and went back to work. Lucas is no better – he refers to his son, as “the kid” and never seems to actually interact with the boy.

The basic plot of “Wicked Prey” is that a group of thieves is stealing “soft” money from men at the Republican Convention that took place in St. Paul in 2008. The plot is all over the place – we hear from the robbers, then the cops, then the robbers, then Letty, the man who’s after Letty then…..well, I kept putting the book down because I was BORED! I’m a fast reader but it took me over a week to read this one. I had a hard time keeping everyone straight, too. Sandford used the characters last names, first names and nicknames! Half the time I didn’t know who the hell was talking! I teach basic creative writing and I wouldn’t let my beginning students get away with that. Pick ONE name and stick to it!

And what’s with Lucas’ Porsche? Please, if he wants to drive a sports car with a little pizazz, give him a Ferrari, or a Lamborghini or an Astin Martin! Heck anyone can drive a Porsche.

Until now, Sandford has always been one of my favorite writers. I think he’s just running out of ideas and that’s too bad. His books used to be fast-paced and full of zippy, witty dialogue. Not any more.

Check out my contemporary romance, Call Sign: Love- #1 bestseller on Fictionwise for August, 2009! www.writewordsinc.com

It’s a long holiday weekend and when I checked, there was nothing much good, new or exciting coming up on TV, so…it was off to the video store for me! I love good mysteries but even more, I adore a good, creepy horror movie. When I checked out, “The Uninvited” the rental clerk at Hollywood Video said, “OH, this is good – it will scare you to death!” Hmmm, my kind of movie.

The movie starts when Anna, a teenager, is released from a mental institute. She’s been there since her terminally ill mother died in a fire – and Anna slit her wrists. Anna can’t quite remember what happened that night so her shrink tells her to go home and find out for herself.

Once home, Anna and her older sister Alex, decide that their mom was killed by Rachel, the mother’s nurse and now their father’s lover. Throughout their search for clues, they are confronted with ghostly visions, terrifying nightmares  and deadly consequences. It’s wicked scary and I jumped several times – don’t you love that?

I was mesmerized by this film and loved every minute. Of course I won’t reveal the ending – you wouldn’t want me to, would you? So, rush to your local video store and rent this movie! Make a big bowl of popcorn, open the cold beverage of your choice and prepare to have the bejesus scared out of you!

If you want some tamer entertainment, pick up a copy of my romance, Call Sign: Love. It was the #1 best seller on Fictionwise for August, 2009!