Links: Amazon, Goodreads, Price: £13.99
“ZOEY CALLAWAY is an introverted Information Professional, content with her cramped apartment above her mother’s garage. She’s a simple person with a simple life until murder shatters her small town of Hope Harbor, Michigan.
When Zoey’s uncle is found dead in his bathtub, police think it’s an accidental overdose, but circumstances tell Zoey a different story. After inheriting her deceased uncle’s home and black kitten, she moves in and catalogues his belongings, inadvertently piecing together clues to solve a crime her uncle had stumbled upon before his death. With a stalker following her every move, Zoey calls upon all her investigative skills to identify the killer before she becomes the next victim.”
I am reviewing “Bad Karma” as part of the Love Book Tours blog tour. A Book Blog tour is the virtual equivalent of a traditional bookshop book tour: during the course of the tour, different blogs will review/provide excerpts/offer author interviews about the book. If you want to follow along the list of blogs on the tour I have posted it at the bottom, and I received a free e-copy of the book in return for the review.
Review of “Bad Karma”
Bad Karma is a whip-snapper of a murder mystery. It keeps its focus firmly on a fast-moving plot, as Zoey hurls herself from one danger to another, only ever realising after she’s put herself in harms way that, well, maybe she shouldn’t have done that. But she is quick on her feet, responds well in a crisis, and her bravery/recklessness make her easy to root for.
The focus on plot does perhaps leave some of the characters, particularly the male characters, a touch two-dimensional. I think this is perhaps because of the necessity of them remaining suspects, and as we experience the story entirely from Zoey’s perspective it also illustrates her introversion and distance from other people. It did mean, however, that by the end of the book you kind of felt like the killer could have been anybody and it wouldn’t have changed much. The good news – it does keep you guessing!
Equally, the prose is direct and to the point. Does this make it bad? No. Like our mysterious men it keeps us in the action and allows the author to keep the pace up. Most of all, this book is fun, and, while it may not be re-inventing the wheel, fun should not be underestimated these days.
If you’re looking for a literary deconstruction of the character of people who search for killers, this is not it. If you want a proper by the numbers thriller that will keep you turning the pages, which as it happens was exactly what I needed when I read this, then Bad Karma is a good fit. Plus, the cat is excellent.
Author Bio
A Northern girl with a wicked imagination, Debi fell in love with mysteries after reading her first Nancy Drew book. She left her job as a paralegal to write full-time. Along with her mystery series, Debi is also the author of many books on the paranormal. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two black cats, and her lab, Hunter. You can find her at www.authordebichestnut.com
