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tmleblanc's review
3.0
Known for writing darker fiction, Tamara Jones takes a run at women’s fiction in her new novel, Morgan’s Run. Set in a small town in southern Minnesota, Morgan’s Run explores the mysterious death of Darcy, Morgan’s business partner, forcing Morgan to examine what she truly knows about herself and the woman she worked with and thought she knew.
Jones certainly knows how to create compelling characters and engaging locales. As she did in Spore, Jones is able to explain the inner workings for living in a small town in the Midwest—the mistrust locals have for newcomers and that somewhat uncomfortable welcome-ness locals effuse when they finally connect with a newcomer. As a native of Minnesota and an Iowa transplant, I found myself chuckling when Morgan attended a party and felt somewhat adrift in the familiarity people had with her and each other. I’ve witnessed that in my own life and the realness of the scene came across the page quite well.
I enjoyed Morgan’s journey of self-discovery. Finding the reasons why she runs and her mistrust of others kept me turning the pages. Even if her budding relationship seemed a bit predictable, there is a need for someone outside of Morgan’s head to start pointing the way and why not a friendly, good-looking guy? Nick defies the stereotype of IT folks. He’s friendly, conversational, knowledgeable and understanding. He’s definitely the guy-next-door which is the type of unassuming person Morgan needs at this point in her life. He’s likeability goes a long way in helping Morgan understanding why she is where she is in her life and discovering the truth behind Darcy’s murder.
Darcy’s murder. This is where Morgan’s Run falls a bit flat for me. There was not enough time spent on solving Darcy’s murder. The story is all about Morgan and her hang-ups, which is not bad, but the reason Morgan is stuck in the middle of no-where Minnesota is Darcy’s murder. No one in the Morgan’s Run is an amateur sleuth or wanna-be detective. There seems to be no palpable motivation to solve Darcy’s murder. The clues come slow and are few and far between until the very end of the story when there appears to be a sudden realization that, “Oh, we better solve this murder because Morgan’s starting to get her life in order.” As a result, when the who-dun-it is finally revealed, it feels haphazard and half-hearted. More time needed to be spend on developing and rolling out the past storyline that pulled Morgan, Darcy and the killer together to achieve the real punch that reveal was intended to have.
Morgan’s Run is not a bad installment in the women’s fiction genre. It is an easy, quick, compelling read even if the who-dun-it reveal falls a bit flat for this reader. It’s great to see Jones stretching her legs as a writer, trying something new and succeeding quite well in giving readers characters and a setting they can relate and identify with.
Jones certainly knows how to create compelling characters and engaging locales. As she did in Spore, Jones is able to explain the inner workings for living in a small town in the Midwest—the mistrust locals have for newcomers and that somewhat uncomfortable welcome-ness locals effuse when they finally connect with a newcomer. As a native of Minnesota and an Iowa transplant, I found myself chuckling when Morgan attended a party and felt somewhat adrift in the familiarity people had with her and each other. I’ve witnessed that in my own life and the realness of the scene came across the page quite well.
I enjoyed Morgan’s journey of self-discovery. Finding the reasons why she runs and her mistrust of others kept me turning the pages. Even if her budding relationship seemed a bit predictable, there is a need for someone outside of Morgan’s head to start pointing the way and why not a friendly, good-looking guy? Nick defies the stereotype of IT folks. He’s friendly, conversational, knowledgeable and understanding. He’s definitely the guy-next-door which is the type of unassuming person Morgan needs at this point in her life. He’s likeability goes a long way in helping Morgan understanding why she is where she is in her life and discovering the truth behind Darcy’s murder.
Darcy’s murder. This is where Morgan’s Run falls a bit flat for me. There was not enough time spent on solving Darcy’s murder. The story is all about Morgan and her hang-ups, which is not bad, but the reason Morgan is stuck in the middle of no-where Minnesota is Darcy’s murder. No one in the Morgan’s Run is an amateur sleuth or wanna-be detective. There seems to be no palpable motivation to solve Darcy’s murder. The clues come slow and are few and far between until the very end of the story when there appears to be a sudden realization that, “Oh, we better solve this murder because Morgan’s starting to get her life in order.” As a result, when the who-dun-it is finally revealed, it feels haphazard and half-hearted. More time needed to be spend on developing and rolling out the past storyline that pulled Morgan, Darcy and the killer together to achieve the real punch that reveal was intended to have.
Morgan’s Run is not a bad installment in the women’s fiction genre. It is an easy, quick, compelling read even if the who-dun-it reveal falls a bit flat for this reader. It’s great to see Jones stretching her legs as a writer, trying something new and succeeding quite well in giving readers characters and a setting they can relate and identify with.
fredtyre's review
5.0
Got sucked in and couldn't get out.
A great book that I lost a lot of sleep over. Got sucked in and couldn't get out. Well done.
A great book that I lost a lot of sleep over. Got sucked in and couldn't get out. Well done.
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