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A review by cnorbury
The Gate House by Nelson DeMille
3.0
Another possibly great book tempered by the lack of editing for tightness and maintaining momentum. The concept is fantastic: a continuation of John & Susan Sutter's involvement with the Bellarosa family. This time, the vengeful son who wants revenge on Susan killing her father ten years earlier.
John Sutter, her husband, is the MC and a solid protagonist. But he's a bit too much like a few other DeMille MCs; most notably John Corey. Too much a wise-ass who sometimes gets in trouble with his mouth and stubbornness.
All that aside, the main drag was the middle section of the book, which dwelt endlessly with the drawn-out funeral of the long-time family servant. She was important only for the bombshell deathbed letter she dropped on John Sutter as the catalyst to the ending. Yet, the interactions during her days-long wake, funeral, and burial take up about 25% of the book. Much of that could have been condensed with no loss of information or intrigue. So shame on the editor for not doing a high quality job, the kind of quality needed to compliment a DeMille novel.
John Sutter, her husband, is the MC and a solid protagonist. But he's a bit too much like a few other DeMille MCs; most notably John Corey. Too much a wise-ass who sometimes gets in trouble with his mouth and stubbornness.
All that aside, the main drag was the middle section of the book, which dwelt endlessly with the drawn-out funeral of the long-time family servant. She was important only for the bombshell deathbed letter she dropped on John Sutter as the catalyst to the ending. Yet, the interactions during her days-long wake, funeral, and burial take up about 25% of the book. Much of that could have been condensed with no loss of information or intrigue. So shame on the editor for not doing a high quality job, the kind of quality needed to compliment a DeMille novel.