Official Review: The Origin of Murder by Jerold Last

[Mama_Of_One_2015]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Origin of Murder" by Jerold Last.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Origin of Murder by Jerold Last is the eighth book in his series involving the main characters, Roger and Suzanne. While there are some significant references to the other books, this book was able to stand independently of the series.

The plot follows the main characters, their infant son, and the son’s nanny (who just happens to be an ex-Navy SEAL) on a vacation to the Galapagos Islands. While on the islands, they are called upon to help solve a murder and uncover a conspiracy that must be stopped.

It was very apparent within the book that the author did extensive research on the subjects he wrote about. The descriptions and narratives, while they didn’t contribute to the “mystery” plot line of the novel, were very detailed and educational, and I enjoyed them to a point. However, at times the information was repetitive, and there were some details provided that didn’t have any relevance to either the Galapagos Islands or the plot line of the murder and conspiracy investigation that seemed out of place.

The first chapter started out with the discovery of the murder of one of their fellow tourists while on the Galapagos Islands. The way the chapter was written seemed to indicate that the author had originally had the book in chronological order, and then moved this particular chapter to the front of the book, as there were no introductions to the main characters in the first chapter. The second chapter then introduced the characters and provided the background information necessary to understand what was going on. I felt that the first chapter would have been better placed in chronological order within the book.

Another item I noticed was the dialogue was used to convey a lot of information at once, and didn’t always reflect how people would actually converse. While there were a number of places in the novel where a significant amount of information would be provided naturally (such as in a lecture), the author also used this method for the conversation dialogue, which didn't read well.

When one of the other tourists were introduced in Ecuador, there were also some foreshadowing remarks made that I thought were inappropriate to make at that time, such as “We never found out which” or he “also concealed a secret identity, as we were to find out later.”

I would give this book a rating of 1 out of 4 stars. I almost quit reading after the first few chapters. I couldn’t connect with the main characters, and the writing didn’t flow naturally enough that I could get into the story. At the current state that it is in, I would not recommend this book. However, the plot was very original. I think if given another chance to simplify the story and make the main characters more credible and relatable, the author could make this into a better novel.

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The Origin of Murder
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