interesting story
An interesting enough murder mystery which reads a lot like watching an episode of Murder, She Wrote. Dialog-driven, lots of matter-of-fact observations, etc. But no interesting, clever, original bits of writing. No insights into Jessica Fletcher via inner monologue or how she came to this point in her life, making for flat characters the reader never really gets to know well, or what their motivations are. Three stars for being entertaining if nothing else.
Many instances in this series of disasters boil down to common sense and safety. While her father's bi-polar disorder coupled with his survivalist tendencies contributed to not only mental abuse - mental neglect? – it also led to him to not educate his family on ideas of simple safety. He placed productivity and preparedness ahead of valuing his family and children.
I grew up on a farm where we operated and maintained many dangerous pieces of equipment. Swathers, combines, choppers, blowers, PTO shafts spinning, hydraulic lines pumping and squidging, snow mobiles, 500 gallon fuel storage units on-site, welders, acetylene torches, electric fences, augurs, elevators, poisonous herbicides, livestock capable of trampling, cultivators, feed grinders, 80' silo ladders, grain bin vacuums, and so on. Before any of us kids were allowed to touch, mount, drive, or operate ANY of it, we were carefully trained, and taught to listen and learn as grandpa Vernor, uncle Freeman, older cousin Randy, and even cousin Nancy taught us their proper use and operation, and warned us of every way something could go wrong that would put us in danger or cause a costly breakdown. Reading this book has caused me to look back on my farm days with a new appreciation for my family.
well for goodness sakes!
There were times I hated this book while reading, several passages of vile and disgusting behaviors that didn't really need to be elaborated on in so detailed a fashion. However, there is a slowly revealed and interesting story here that builds as you move through the book that is very compelling.
While reading this book, one starts to wonder if the author has experienced extreme intestinal discomfort at some point in his life. He describes it in such detail that one truly believes that he has. Or does.
Started out wonderfully! And then wouldn't end.
The first third of this book is extremely interesting and very well told, with surprises around every turn. Then the author starts repeating the same battles in different settings. It's gets really repetitive really fast, not great for a book of this length. A lot of people seem to really love this book though, so what do I know?