Official Review: Stain on the Soul by Michele Drier

[Paige Alvarado]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Stain on the Soul" by Michele Drier.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Rosalind "Roz" Duke is a well-known stained glass artist who earns her living from commission work. When her beloved husband is murdered and the police are unable to track down a culprit, Roz must find a way to move on with her life. She adopts a dog and uproots, leaving the big city of Los Angeles for the small town of Hamilton, Oregon.

A few months after her big move, Roz and her four-legged friend, Tut, are settling into rural life. Things are slowly becoming somewhat normal, when suddenly an ambulance, police cars, and an investigative team appear on her street. A neighbor has been brutally murdered. There are no leads and the police are unable to even identify the victim because he has been living under an alias. Roz meets another neighbor, Liam, who is an investigative journalist. They take it upon themselves to solve the mystery. When Roz realizes that one of her knives is the murder weapon, things become even more complicated. Why would someone steal from her? Is this murder connected with her husband's? Is the murderer(s) targeting her? All of these questions and more are answered in Michele Drier's thrilling mystery, Stain on the Soul.

There was absolutely nothing to dislike about this book. However, I did come across quite a few typos. I found 23 in total, but they were all very minor. I do believe that Drier had this book edited, but maybe not professionally.

I thought Stain on the Soul was a great read. I wanted to know so badly who murdered Roz's neighbor that I literally couldn't put it down. My favorite thing about the book is the character development. Roz and Liam seem to have a bit of romantic chemistry between them, but Roz is still hung up on the loss of her husband. I liked that she did not jump into a relationship with Liam. Instead, she kept it casual and remained close friends with him. I found this to be a very respectable approach and made Roz's character more believable. It also allowed the reader to focus more on the mystery of what was happening in Hamilton.

Another thing I liked is that this is the first installment of what is to become a series. When I realized this, I thought she might leave a cliffhanger at the end. I am happy to say that she wrapped it up nicely and left no stone unturned.

One of the main themes in this book is the murder of course. There were some descriptions of blood and stab wounds. This may affect sensitive readers. There is also mention of pornography, homosexuality, pedophilia, and abuse. One of the more disturbing subjects discussed in the text was that of pedophilia in the Catholic church and how it is covered up. These things may be difficult for some audiences to read about, and I would advise those people to steer clear. Stain on the Soul had only a couple of instances of profanity and no eroticism whatsoever.

Based on the number of typographical errors, I am unable to grant Michele Drier with a perfect score. That being said, I really enjoyed this book overall. I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery, and I look forward to reading future installments in the series. I am happy to rate Stain on the Soul 3 out of 4 stars.

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Stain on the Soul
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[NetMassimo]

A mystery that addresses difficult themes and doesn't fall into soap opera scores high in my assessment. Thank you for your informative review!

[Ogoskino]

It is always difficult for one to move on having lost a loved one. I'm interested in seeing how she fares. Thanks for the review.

[Cynthia_Oluchi]

I am curious about many things: the neighbor's murder, the knife and more. Is she really the target? I hope she's able to go through the unraveling of these mysteries strong.