Review of Black Orchid

[Itz Savaga]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Black Orchid" by Laura Burke.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

This book, Black Orchid by Laura Burke, is a total murder mystery. It tells the story of Watch Hill, a calm and peaceful village on the island. Everyone knew each other like family, and everything moved smoothly until a perfect black orchid laced with deadly snake venom started appearing on the beach. No one knew where it had come from, nor did they know it was poisonous. The first victim became old Miss Kitty Wilson. No one connected her death to the flower, and the plan went on till Wayne Minor could no longer bear it. Ellie, the niece of Kitty Wilson, moved back to the island to take over her aunt's store and house after her death. Her path and that of Wayne's crossed.

Lieutenant Smith got called into the whole case by Doc Tucker, an old doctor on the island who happened to be the only doctor there too. The deaths were increasing so much that most of the islanders moved away to the mainland. Someone was trying to clear the island of people, and Lieutenant Smith wanted to get to the root of the matter. He hit dead ends whichever way he tried. His men even started dying as they either got in contact with the poison or were shot. Read this suspenseful story to find out who was the boss behind the killings and attacks.

I loved how the story was made up and how the author had it arranged. Each chapter told a story of its own, making it worth the time spent reading it. The storyline was wonderful, and it had an even better plot. Most murder mystery stories are sometimes cliche, but this one broke away from the norm. The ending would leave you speechless. The characters were also well defined, which improved the story.

I did not quite like the delivery of the storyline. It could be better. The various events should have been better explained, leaving out the unnecessary parts. Some parts of this book needed better closure, like what had triggered the last heart attack that caused Doc Tucker's death and what had happened to Mr Brown and Mr Johnson's son. The dialogues in this story should have been worked on better. Even when it was supposed to be informal, it seemed very formal and straightforward.

I would give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The deducted star, apart from being a result of the points in the fourth paragraph, was also because of the editing. It needed better editing as the errors showed that it was not professionally edited. Meanwhile, the book was worth the three stars as it had a good storyline and was intriguing.

I would recommend this book to murder mystery lovers. This would pique their interest and keep them on their toes. Lovers of adventurous stories should also see this as a must-read book.

******
Black Orchid
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[NetMassimo]

Despite the flaws you pointed out, this seems like an engaging murder mystery with various stories, possibly intertwined, and well-constructed characters. Thank you for your great review!