Official Review: The Kidnapping of Shelby Wear by Ken Alger

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Kidnapping of Shelby Wear" by Ken Alger.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Kidnapping of Shelby Wear by K.B. Alger sounds like a thrilling and action-packed adventure. A few of the hooks that caused me to pick up this book include international intrigue, kidnapping, the CIA, high-speed chases, and corporate espionage. These characteristics are typical of the action genre. The book has all this and is also completely lacking both "adult-only" scenes and vulgar language. What more could I ask?

However, this particular book has enough problems that I found I was not on the edge of my seat. Instead, I found that it was easy to put down and hard to finish. The plot, while filled with many dangerous happenings, seemed to wind on and on and never end. It was truly unbelievable how many challenges Shelby Wear (and friends) had to overcome. If being rescued from being held hostage was not enough, Shelby ended up having a price on her head large enough to draw all the drug lords and low-life people after her. Shelby had to deal with tracking devices, being drugged, and being shot at. Shelby was both a computer nerd and shockingly skilled in a form of martial arts. Her character would have been brilliant in a Marvel movie.

Additionally, the author introduced so many characters that, after a few chapters, I had significant difficulty discerning who was a "good guy" and who was a "bad guy" or who was working for whom. It would have been nice to have fewer twists and turns, fewer characters, and more character development. Also, I think this type of plot works better in the movies than in a book. I enjoy several action movies that are only a series of unbelievable events until finally, the good guys win. (Mission Impossible, I'm looking at you.)

The final issue that I have with this book is the lack of good editing. Within the first two pages, I had found well over ten errors. I am listing some examples of the errors that I found.

"He cast a glance at is wife Allison sitting in the passenger seat, the most beautiful woman in the world." First, I noticed "is" instead of "his." A second error in the same sentence is that "the most beautiful woman in the world" is technically describing the passenger seat instead of the wife.

Another error I found more than once was the use of the word "seen" instead of "saw." "Jerry seen...." Throughout the book, I found typos, misplaced modifiers, incorrect capitalization, etc. This book contained too many errors for me to enjoy it.

I wanted to love this book. I like fast-paced action stories and can usually enjoy a solid story by suspending disbelief. I also realize that this genre typically focuses on action instead of character development, so the lack of that is not the biggest problem. Although the main plot is compelling and the romantic subplot is completely clean, this book has too many issues for me to recommend with any degree of confidence. Honestly, I did not enjoy reading this book at all, although I feel that if the author reworked this, I would be willing to try it again. A reworking would include carefully deleting some characters, tightening the action, and having it edited professionally. I regret to give it only 1 out of 4 stars.

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The Kidnapping of Shelby Wear
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[Stephanie Elizabeth]

It's too bad that this one missed the mark for you as it sounds like it had a lot of potentials, but there was just too much going on. I also find it difficult to follow a story when I am inundated with new characters. Thanks for your honest review!

[fancyjg]

Your review is bluntly honest. The book sounds confused but if the author can do something about it could have potential. Books that are not gripping and exciting are a turn-off.

[Yvonne Monique]

I am sure that the author will take your comments into account and will revise the editing.

[Vannaskivt]

Thank you for this review. I'll be passing on this one until the editing errors are corrected.