Butterscotch |

04/01/2004
This isn't a particularly engaging book. It's not bad, but it's not great either - the book is extremely average in every respect. The characters and their motivations for doing things are not carefully crafted, the murder mystery plot wasn't that interesting, and the romance between the two main characters was weak. I kept waiting for this book to really 'take off,' but it never did. The writing remained stable, but there just wasn't enough action, suspense or romance to make this a great book. The author did her homework in terms of describing the location where the book takes place, and it appears she studied up quite a bit on mountaineering and military terms, but even those descriptions lacked feeling and that engaging quality that good writing evokes. The characters are not ones that you will remember after the book is done, and the writing just isn't strong enough to create visuals and place you alongside the characters. While reading this book, I was reminded of college professors with mundane, uninflected voices that seem to drone on and on. This book, and the writing, was very monotone.