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A review by tmleblanc
Halfway Dead by Terry Maggert
3.0
As a fan of coffee, waffles and supernatural things (and having met Terry last spring), I was excited to jump into Halfway Dead upon approval from Netgalley.
Halfway Dead is a delightfully quick read. Life in the Adirondack Mountains seems eerily similar to life in rural Minnesota where I grew up; although, if we had witches living nearby they never revealed themselves to me. Maggert did an excellent job of setting the scene in the mountains. Halfway is real to me, I could smell the pine trees, and I certainly wanted to stop by and try Carlie’s waffles at the diner.
I also feel a kinship with Carlie McEwan. Living in a small town where you don’t quite feel like you fit in is tough. And while Carlie seems to have settled into small town life with her Maine Coon cat, Gus, and supportive grandmother, at times, especially later in the book, Carlie seems to want a bit more out of life.
The only downside for me in Halfway Dead is the pacing and forgettable secondary characters. The story is slow to jump into the action and when action does occur it happens in the blink of an eye then the story plods on again until Carlie runs into the next person or supernatural being to drive the story forward again. There’s at least one character, introduced early in the story, who gets lost in the middle of the rollercoaster ride and another one who is so unmemorable that I completely forgot who he was when he showed up in just a chapter or two after he is introduced.
This isn’t to say that Halfway Dead is a bad read. I finished the book. The major characters populating and visiting Halfway make up for some of the poor pacing and plotting. The setting was beautifully painted and has me dreaming of a trip in the Adirondack Mountains. I would definitely take another trip to Halfway if given the opportunity.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
Halfway Dead is a delightfully quick read. Life in the Adirondack Mountains seems eerily similar to life in rural Minnesota where I grew up; although, if we had witches living nearby they never revealed themselves to me. Maggert did an excellent job of setting the scene in the mountains. Halfway is real to me, I could smell the pine trees, and I certainly wanted to stop by and try Carlie’s waffles at the diner.
I also feel a kinship with Carlie McEwan. Living in a small town where you don’t quite feel like you fit in is tough. And while Carlie seems to have settled into small town life with her Maine Coon cat, Gus, and supportive grandmother, at times, especially later in the book, Carlie seems to want a bit more out of life.
The only downside for me in Halfway Dead is the pacing and forgettable secondary characters. The story is slow to jump into the action and when action does occur it happens in the blink of an eye then the story plods on again until Carlie runs into the next person or supernatural being to drive the story forward again. There’s at least one character, introduced early in the story, who gets lost in the middle of the rollercoaster ride and another one who is so unmemorable that I completely forgot who he was when he showed up in just a chapter or two after he is introduced.
This isn’t to say that Halfway Dead is a bad read. I finished the book. The major characters populating and visiting Halfway make up for some of the poor pacing and plotting. The setting was beautifully painted and has me dreaming of a trip in the Adirondack Mountains. I would definitely take another trip to Halfway if given the opportunity.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews