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Luffy · 01-03-2015, 07:53 AM

A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford #5)
by Charles Todd - 1/5

At one stage reading the book, it was threatening to be one of the worst ones I've come across. It was veering between one and two stars. I said to myself, give me a reason and I'll do it. Well, I did rate it 1 star, and as a result, I'm swearing off books by Charles Todd.

The warning signs were there when at every step of the inquiry conducted by the heroine, Bess Crawford, there was a plethora of deaths set in the past. Now, untimely deaths that haunt the present from their grave is a device that the authors have used to good effect in previous books. But here it was literally overkill. I couldn't shake off the reaction how maudlin and manipulative the entire business was. Matters weren't helped when the voices narrating the details of the deaths weren't individualistic and sharply personal and intimately unique. These witnesses had no voice of their own.

Then there's the betrayed promise of the plot itself. To resume,

Spoiler:

It is dangerous to think too much of what to read and what not to. Poorly rated books can be a success with any reader. But then you think of authors who have written poor books and have disappointed you twice or thrice. While I won't automatically go for every flavor of the month, I have reached the stage where I can accept that my past go to authors cannot guarantee a good read. That renders a sizable chunk of my books redundant. But this selection problem is a pleasant headache. And I'm going to keep trying to use my judgment and experience to find the next gem. Hopefully sooner.

01-03-2015, 07:53 AM	#21390
Luffy Wizard Posts: 4,461 Karma: 429063498 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Mauritius Device: Kindle Paperwhite 4	A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford #5) by Charles Todd - 1/5 At one stage reading the book, it was threatening to be one of the worst ones I've come across. It was veering between one and two stars. I said to myself, give me a reason and I'll do it. Well, I did rate it 1 star, and as a result, I'm swearing off books by Charles Todd. The warning signs were there when at every step of the inquiry conducted by the heroine, Bess Crawford, there was a plethora of deaths set in the past. Now, untimely deaths that haunt the present from their grave is a device that the authors have used to good effect in previous books. But here it was literally overkill. I couldn't shake off the reaction how maudlin and manipulative the entire business was. Matters weren't helped when the voices narrating the details of the deaths weren't individualistic and sharply personal and intimately unique. These witnesses had no voice of their own. Then there's the betrayed promise of the plot itself. To resume, Spoiler: an army officer is accused of two series of murders. One set, three people in England, then, having sailed to India, there was the murder case of the officer's own parents. The latter tragedy occurred just after the said officer had alighted in India. Long story short, the two sets of murders were unrelated, and the second double murders had nothing to do with the other, was perpetuated for obscure reasons, WAS a coincidence of unbelievable proportions, and was solved within the confines of a postscript tagged on at the end of the book. It is dangerous to think too much of what to read and what not to. Poorly rated books can be a success with any reader. But then you think of authors who have written poor books and have disappointed you twice or thrice. While I won't automatically go for every flavor of the month, I have reached the stage where I can accept that my past go to authors cannot guarantee a good read. That renders a sizable chunk of my books redundant. But this selection problem is a pleasant headache. And I'm going to keep trying to use my judgment and experience to find the next gem. Hopefully sooner. Last edited by Luffy; 01-03-2015 at 08:05 AM.