Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.
Scenario: You are in the airport with a 2 hour layover. Or you are waiting in a doctor’s office for your appointment. What to do?
Answer: Read Scraps of Evidence.
At only 222 pages, this book can be easily consumed within a couple of hours. Barbara Cameron weaves a tale that sizzles in the Florida heat even until the very last few pages. While I had my suspicions about the mystery enfolded in these pages, the way that the story unfolded caught me off guard. I really liked the main character, Tess, and her determination to solve her best friend’s murder case. Since Tess is a police office (well, a detective, really) I rather expected her to be a tough cookie. She was able to hold her own, but her character was feminine enough to fit the romance mold for the book. Her new partner Logan has her number from day one, and that helped, although their romance seemed to really pick up speed. Since her mom has passed away, Tess relies on her aunt Kathy for a mother figure. I liked Kathy right away, too. As the story progressed, I kept hoping that Kathy would become more of a central character. Unfortunately my wish became reality in a sad way. I really, super, extremely loved the diversion from the typical Amish romance novels I’ve been reading. This was a great change and even suited the non-mystery fan in me.
As you probably already know, don’t read the summary on the back of the book!! It gives away too much information, and it is also a bit misleading. The summary suggests that Tess takes care of her Aunt Susan, but I can’t even remember who that is. I think it was supposed to be Kathy. There were other minor issues about the book that bugged me a bit. For one thing, several red flags were hoisted without ever being truly explained. I kept saying, “Yeah, but what about….” in my mind. Several sentences seemed to be cut off in the wrong places so that I had to read them a few times to understand what was being conveyed. These inconsistencies distracted me a bit, although I still enjoyed this book very much.
Logan and Tess displayed genuine compassion for the citizens in their care. This aspect of their characters alone would have won my approval. They demonstrated respect for their elders (Tess’s former teacher) and generosity toward those less fortunate (homeless Jim). They even go out of their way to find a lost dog. I’ve never visited St. Augustine and can’t attest to the small-town feel generated by Scraps of Evidence, but it definitely seemed like a place I’d want to visit.
Barbara Cameron’s Scraps of Evidence is the newest book in the Quilts of Love line, and Barbara is celebrating with an “intriguing” Kindle HDX giveaway!
One winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire HDX
- Scraps of Evidence by Barbara Cameron
- Tempest’s Course by Lynette Sowell
- Aloha Rose by Lisa Carter
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 8th. Winner will be announced on the Quilts of Love blog on March 10th.
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