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A review by allvellichor
Stripped Bare by Shannon Baker
3.0
I don't like to write reviews when I'm not completely ecstatic about a book. Usually I'll just leave a star amount and move on but I felt the need to clarify my choice of stars on this one.
If I were to go just with the story-line I would give it at least a 4 stars. I mean who doesn't love a whodunit that take a minute to figure out? With a wide cast of characters (almost all related to each-other) there was a wide variety of people to choose from who might have who killed both a prominent citizen and the county Sheriff on the same night. Was it the devious and suspicious outsider? The troubled teen? The neglected ranch hand? One of the neighbors who felt like they got the short end of the stick? Maybe it was the greedy daughter in law...who knows? I love it when there are so many suspects to choose from, it certainly makes it more interesting.
That is, unfortunately, where my excitement ends. We find ourselves in a cliche hick town in the mid-west where everyone knows everyone and the worst thing that ever happens are those darned rowdy teens getting caught drinking and need to be reprimanded by the Sheriff. The oh so dreamy sheriff who had an on again off again romance until one day (on their off again) he met a different girl - our heroin- and marries her.
Between the sordid affairs and the desperate attempts to re-iterate over and over that this was a hick town where everyone knew everyone and more than half the county was related I was, unfortunately, bored. I felt nothing when the heroin is in a near wreck while speeding down the highway, I wasn't even shocked or dismayed when she discovers (in what could have been a gruesome way) that someone had been on her property in the middle of the night. These threats to her life were nearly forgettable.
Am I being harsh, maybe. I don't mean to be, but the cons were enough that while I enjoyed it enough to read it through I was not taken on the wild ride I had hoped for. Is it worth the read? Yes, absolutely, it's an easy read and the story is interesting enough to keep you wanting to read. In the end I closed the book with a shrug easily ready to move on to the next item on my list. I can't say whether I would continue the series unless I just need something to fill up space on my reading list.
If I were to go just with the story-line I would give it at least a 4 stars. I mean who doesn't love a whodunit that take a minute to figure out? With a wide cast of characters (almost all related to each-other) there was a wide variety of people to choose from who might have who killed both a prominent citizen and the county Sheriff on the same night. Was it the devious and suspicious outsider? The troubled teen? The neglected ranch hand? One of the neighbors who felt like they got the short end of the stick? Maybe it was the greedy daughter in law...who knows? I love it when there are so many suspects to choose from, it certainly makes it more interesting.
That is, unfortunately, where my excitement ends. We find ourselves in a cliche hick town in the mid-west where everyone knows everyone and the worst thing that ever happens are those darned rowdy teens getting caught drinking and need to be reprimanded by the Sheriff. The oh so dreamy sheriff who had an on again off again romance until one day (on their off again) he met a different girl - our heroin- and marries her.
Between the sordid affairs and the desperate attempts to re-iterate over and over that this was a hick town where everyone knew everyone and more than half the county was related I was, unfortunately, bored. I felt nothing when the heroin is in a near wreck while speeding down the highway, I wasn't even shocked or dismayed when she discovers (in what could have been a gruesome way) that someone had been on her property in the middle of the night. These threats to her life were nearly forgettable.
Am I being harsh, maybe. I don't mean to be, but the cons were enough that while I enjoyed it enough to read it through I was not taken on the wild ride I had hoped for. Is it worth the read? Yes, absolutely, it's an easy read and the story is interesting enough to keep you wanting to read. In the end I closed the book with a shrug easily ready to move on to the next item on my list. I can't say whether I would continue the series unless I just need something to fill up space on my reading list.