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| Lamplighter Mysteries; 302 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour |
Now available from Lamplighter Mysteries is the mystery thriller Murder in Disguise: A Preston Barclay Mystery by Donn Taylor.
The novel centers on Preston Barclay, a visiting professor who's working at a state university for the summer. Out of nowhere, he finds himself investigating the strange death of a department chairman. While the local authorities have ruled the man's death as a suicide, Dr. Barclay believes foul play is at hand.
With the help from Mara Thorn, Dr. Barclay seeks out to find the truth behind the mystery, while at the same time trying to dodge a sexy assistant, campus radicals, and criminals.
Final Thoughts
To be completely honest, it took me a bit to time to get in the mood to read Murder in Disguise. While I do love reading a good mystery, there's just something about the author's writing style that didn't connect with me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I had a difficult time wanting to read the book; though I eventually pushed myself to finish it.
The main character, Preston Barclay, is a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Robert Langdon. The character is likeable, and for me, he was the only interesting part of the novel. The other characters, including Mara Thorn, were a bit too cliched for my liking. The actual story feels like a plot from an old Diagnosis Murders episode, but it was too predictable for me.
Overall, Murder in Disguise is an average mystery novel. I enjoyed the main character, but I didn't like the pacing, narration, or the predictable plot.
*Note : I received a complimentary copy in from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
With a PhD in English literature (Renaissance), Donn Taylor taught literature for 18 years at two liberal arts colleges. Now retired, he has published suspense novels, mysteries, and poetry. His historical novel Lightning on a Quiet Night was a finalist for the 2015 Selah Awards. He is a frequent speaker at writers' conferences. In a prior incarnation, he led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. He now lives in the woods near Houston, TX, where he writes fiction, poetry, and essays on current topics. Find out more about Donn at http://www.donntaylor.com.
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