Review by Anjcrewl -- All Good Things by Rosemary Reeve
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Review by Anjcrewl -- All Good Things by Rosemary Reeve
[Following is a volunteer review of "All Good Things" by Rosemary Reeve.]
When Jack Hart’s friend and coworker, Harmony Piper, fails to show up to work one day, he is surprised and slightly concerned. It was unusual for her to skip work, at least not without checking in via phone call. Then, when he finds a drop of dried blood on the carpet in her office, his concern escalates into panic. The next day, Harmony is still missing. And to add to the mystery, the body of a prominent member of their firm is found dead. In the following days, the body count grows and Harmony’s whereabouts continue to stump both Jack and the police. Has Harmony gotten mixed up in some dastardly plot? Or is she perhaps the devious mastermind behind the murders? Jack makes it his mission to find his friend, whatever the circumstance may be. But Jack needs to be careful, because someone does not want Harmony to be found, and they are willing to kill to keep it that way.
Rosemary Reeve's legal thriller, All Good Things, kept me captivated from the first sentence until the last. I was right there with Jack, trying to solve the mystery of Harmony’s disappearance and the murders that followed. I have read an inordinate amount of stories from the murder mystery genre. The consequence of this is I often know the ending before the protagonist does. However, not only did Reeve manage to keep me guessing until the climactic “whodunnit” scene, but there were still more surprises to be had, even after the murderer had been revealed. I enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle Reeve laid before me. I can see myself reading the story again and trying to see what clues I missed the first time.
Another surprise to me was the attention paid to child neglect, abuse, and abandonment. I am fortunate that I never had first hand experience with these circumstances as a child, so I welcomed the chance to gain insight to an issue I know little about. Reeve does an amazing job describing the mental/physical pain, confusion, resentment, betrayal, and sadness these unfortunate children live with on a daily basis. Plus, she vividly illustrated how these traumas of childhood neglect and abuse can later influence these individuals' choices in their adult life. I cheered on the characters who rose above their circumstances and pitied the ones who were still fighting their demons. I raged against the adults who brutalized the children entrusted to them. It is easy to use this sensitive subject matter for exploitative purposes, but Reeve manages to treat it with the utmost respect. She instead uses it to add depth to her characters, helping them come to life.
I only have a couple minor criticisms about the book. For one, I’m still not entirely sure how the book’s title connects to the story. If someone were to ask me the correlation between the title and the story, I would only be able to shrug my shoulders and shake my head in befuddlement. I have a theory that the final scene may be what ties the two together, but this theory is purely speculative. My second criticism concerns the year in which the story takes place. I was more than halfway through the book when I began to suspect that it may not be set in present day Seattle after all. Then, as I neared the end, a 486 IBM computer made an appearance in the story, giving me a hint that the story may be actually set in the early 1990’s. I had to research the chronology of IBM computers to confirm my suspicions. It would have been more helpful if the author had at least mentioned some sort of pop culture, sport, or news reference at some point during the first few chapters to put a time stamp on the story and avoid this confusion. Or at least mentioned the computer sooner.
I give All Good Things 4 out of 4 stars. I could not put it down, so eager was I to find out what would happen in the next chapter. I would start reading with the intention of stopping after one or two chapters, but then found myself reading for one or two hours! And the book was very well edited, and I did not notice any discrepancies. Fans of John Grisham legal thrillers or murder mysteries in general will enjoy this book, which is the first in a series. I plan on adding more Jack Hart stories to my shelf in the future.
******
All Good Things
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When Jack Hart’s friend and coworker, Harmony Piper, fails to show up to work one day, he is surprised and slightly concerned. It was unusual for her to skip work, at least not without checking in via phone call. Then, when he finds a drop of dried blood on the carpet in her office, his concern escalates into panic. The next day, Harmony is still missing. And to add to the mystery, the body of a prominent member of their firm is found dead. In the following days, the body count grows and Harmony’s whereabouts continue to stump both Jack and the police. Has Harmony gotten mixed up in some dastardly plot? Or is she perhaps the devious mastermind behind the murders? Jack makes it his mission to find his friend, whatever the circumstance may be. But Jack needs to be careful, because someone does not want Harmony to be found, and they are willing to kill to keep it that way.
Rosemary Reeve's legal thriller, All Good Things, kept me captivated from the first sentence until the last. I was right there with Jack, trying to solve the mystery of Harmony’s disappearance and the murders that followed. I have read an inordinate amount of stories from the murder mystery genre. The consequence of this is I often know the ending before the protagonist does. However, not only did Reeve manage to keep me guessing until the climactic “whodunnit” scene, but there were still more surprises to be had, even after the murderer had been revealed. I enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle Reeve laid before me. I can see myself reading the story again and trying to see what clues I missed the first time.
Another surprise to me was the attention paid to child neglect, abuse, and abandonment. I am fortunate that I never had first hand experience with these circumstances as a child, so I welcomed the chance to gain insight to an issue I know little about. Reeve does an amazing job describing the mental/physical pain, confusion, resentment, betrayal, and sadness these unfortunate children live with on a daily basis. Plus, she vividly illustrated how these traumas of childhood neglect and abuse can later influence these individuals' choices in their adult life. I cheered on the characters who rose above their circumstances and pitied the ones who were still fighting their demons. I raged against the adults who brutalized the children entrusted to them. It is easy to use this sensitive subject matter for exploitative purposes, but Reeve manages to treat it with the utmost respect. She instead uses it to add depth to her characters, helping them come to life.
I only have a couple minor criticisms about the book. For one, I’m still not entirely sure how the book’s title connects to the story. If someone were to ask me the correlation between the title and the story, I would only be able to shrug my shoulders and shake my head in befuddlement. I have a theory that the final scene may be what ties the two together, but this theory is purely speculative. My second criticism concerns the year in which the story takes place. I was more than halfway through the book when I began to suspect that it may not be set in present day Seattle after all. Then, as I neared the end, a 486 IBM computer made an appearance in the story, giving me a hint that the story may be actually set in the early 1990’s. I had to research the chronology of IBM computers to confirm my suspicions. It would have been more helpful if the author had at least mentioned some sort of pop culture, sport, or news reference at some point during the first few chapters to put a time stamp on the story and avoid this confusion. Or at least mentioned the computer sooner.
I give All Good Things 4 out of 4 stars. I could not put it down, so eager was I to find out what would happen in the next chapter. I would start reading with the intention of stopping after one or two chapters, but then found myself reading for one or two hours! And the book was very well edited, and I did not notice any discrepancies. Fans of John Grisham legal thrillers or murder mysteries in general will enjoy this book, which is the first in a series. I plan on adding more Jack Hart stories to my shelf in the future.
******
All Good Things
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress by Gustavo Kinrys, MD
