chastrimble72 's review for:

The Orphanage By The Lake by Daniel G. Miller

2.0

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I was looking forward to this read from the change of pace from the fantasy and romance books I have been reading lately. I love a good thriller. Have to say I was disappointed. There were some areas of the book that I liked and some areas I wasn’t crazy about. It has really good potential but I would have liked it more with a change in some of the delivery.

What I liked: I liked the setting of the orphanage in the beginning is creepy and gives off a suspenseful feeling. I liked when the FMC, Hazel was finally portrayed as though she could do her job as a PI - which wasn’t often enough. I really liked the plot of the story.

What I would change - I really didn’t connect or find the FMC believeable as an Asian woman with how the author portrayed her to be or how he tried to write from her POV.  Some of the lines he would have her say made her look incompetent, unprofessional, comes off dumb and flighty. What really ruffled me - not so much as to having the FMC becoming PI due to her past sexual assault, because sometimes people do choose to go into the field to help others who suffer from the trauma; what I didn’t like was how he portrayed how she handled the trauma. Insensitive.  It shows he doesn’t relate to a woman, much less an Asian woman. It would have been better if the main character for this author was male and wrote from that POV. Also what Private Detective doesn’t carry, or at least have some weapon on them, and no self defense training?!? 

I really was looking forward to this read especially by the description of what was to come, however it wasn’t near as good as I hoped it would be.