Every Trick in the Book by Lucy Arlington

By the middle of October, the heat and lassitude of a Southern summer had finally loosed its hold over the quaint, artsy town of Inspiration Valley.

Uh-oh, a weather report! The first paragraph, until its timely demise, continues to discuss weather and then paragraph 2 begins with more weather related themes by describing fall activities in this town. Paragraph 3 continues the season theme but now, it's in relationship to a specific character, the narrator, yet this is where the author manages to introduce a premise.

First thing said:

"Ready to put those guns to good use?"

Sounds like something the typical Southerner would say, or so a non-Southerner would believe. Oh, the realism!

So, despite the opening weather report, which bores me and does not make me feel cozy. Although, if you enjoy watching the weather channel, you'll probably disagree and find such an opening gripping. At least the dialogue is entertaining and perky.

It's great that we have the promise of some entertaining dialogue, unlike many other novels reviewed here that begin talking with something shallow like: "Hello?"

Yet:

Verdict: Fail

Sincerely,
Rudy Globird