|
"Where Sin Increased"
|
“Oh heavenly Father, I don’t know if I have a pact with you or the devil…”
Winterhaven is “Where Sin Increased”, that is the small town in Maine where John Daniel grew up. The mysterious death of his sister Mary Sue leaves JD, as well as the rest of the Therberge family along with other residents of Winterhaven, unsettled for years to come. While life moves on in Winterhaven, a private investigator by the name of Rocky O’Hara moves in to settle some arrangements. As he becomes intertwined with those closest to Mary Sue, he seeks to unravel the mystery behind a case that has gone cold.
Winterhaven is “Where Sin Increased”, that is the small town in Maine where John Daniel grew up. The mysterious death of his sister Mary Sue leaves JD, as well as the rest of the Therberge family along with other residents of Winterhaven, unsettled for years to come. While life moves on in Winterhaven, a private investigator by the name of Rocky O’Hara moves in to settle some arrangements. As he becomes intertwined with those closest to Mary Sue, he seeks to unravel the mystery behind a case that has gone cold.
Readability
Be prepared to take some notes, or plenty of ginkgo biloba, because there are over forty different characters that are mentioned by name in this book. Don’t let that scare you off though, as only about a dozen have any significant relevance throughout the narrative. The plot loosely revolves around the tragic death that occurred within the town of Winterhaven, as several character driven storylines (sometimes completely unrelated) weave in and out of each other’s lives. The book does contain some colorful language here and there, but is well written with very few errors, which is impressive given the sheer amount of characters to keep tabs on. However, I felt the pacing suffered greatly due to the amount of time that was spent on so many irrelevant storylines, which pulled the narrative further and further away from developing a viable plot. At times I felt the burn as I churned through page after page of ancestry stories while anxiously awaited the delivery of new plot points that seemed to have gotten lost in the mail.
Creativity
Sue Baumgardner uses the characters to breathe life into Winterhaven. She sews together an A/B storyline with a setting that not only feels believable but is inhabited by lifelike people that I slowly got to know on a personal level. Combine that with use of some well-crafted and metaphorically driven prose like “His cheeks were too rosy; his eyes sparkled like the dying embers of a fire that have just been blown upon” and I couldn’t help but become touched by the sincerity of the moment. There are religious themes throughout the story, but that came off as something that was forced into the narrative rather than symbolizing anything that had to do with the plot. I thought Winterhaven was supposed to be “Where Sin Increased”, but that’s not what I saw as I read through this story. There are a few scenes that contain some graphic imagery that took me by surprise, based on how tame the rest of the story is by comparison.
Delivery
The main narrative sinks below the surface rather than developing into anything that resembles a structured plot that stays afloat all the way to the end. There is so much digression throughout the story that amounted to nothing more than dead end tangents, that I was having trouble understanding what the story was really about. At first I thought I was reading a redemption story about John Daniel, but then it seemed as though I was reading a cozy crime drama when Rocky came into the picture. The thought of Rocky’s character discovering the truth behind the Mary Sue mystery, while he lived his own life alongside those who were most affected by the case, added some high stakes suspense to the story. I would have really liked to have seen how that played out, but unfortunately that’s not the satisfying ending that’s given. In fact, I was not satisfied with the ending at all. It’s as if the whole investigation narrative was abandoned on a whim. I think Rocky’s whole storyline could have been removed from the novel, which would have reduced its length to that of a novella, and the story would still read the same but with much less fluff. However, if Rocky’s character was supposed to add juxtaposition to John Daniel’s, then that leaves me to wonder why there’s so much time spent with other characters for reasons that don’t relate to either John or Rocky’s storylines.
Be prepared to take some notes, or plenty of ginkgo biloba, because there are over forty different characters that are mentioned by name in this book. Don’t let that scare you off though, as only about a dozen have any significant relevance throughout the narrative. The plot loosely revolves around the tragic death that occurred within the town of Winterhaven, as several character driven storylines (sometimes completely unrelated) weave in and out of each other’s lives. The book does contain some colorful language here and there, but is well written with very few errors, which is impressive given the sheer amount of characters to keep tabs on. However, I felt the pacing suffered greatly due to the amount of time that was spent on so many irrelevant storylines, which pulled the narrative further and further away from developing a viable plot. At times I felt the burn as I churned through page after page of ancestry stories while anxiously awaited the delivery of new plot points that seemed to have gotten lost in the mail.
Creativity
Sue Baumgardner uses the characters to breathe life into Winterhaven. She sews together an A/B storyline with a setting that not only feels believable but is inhabited by lifelike people that I slowly got to know on a personal level. Combine that with use of some well-crafted and metaphorically driven prose like “His cheeks were too rosy; his eyes sparkled like the dying embers of a fire that have just been blown upon” and I couldn’t help but become touched by the sincerity of the moment. There are religious themes throughout the story, but that came off as something that was forced into the narrative rather than symbolizing anything that had to do with the plot. I thought Winterhaven was supposed to be “Where Sin Increased”, but that’s not what I saw as I read through this story. There are a few scenes that contain some graphic imagery that took me by surprise, based on how tame the rest of the story is by comparison.
Delivery
The main narrative sinks below the surface rather than developing into anything that resembles a structured plot that stays afloat all the way to the end. There is so much digression throughout the story that amounted to nothing more than dead end tangents, that I was having trouble understanding what the story was really about. At first I thought I was reading a redemption story about John Daniel, but then it seemed as though I was reading a cozy crime drama when Rocky came into the picture. The thought of Rocky’s character discovering the truth behind the Mary Sue mystery, while he lived his own life alongside those who were most affected by the case, added some high stakes suspense to the story. I would have really liked to have seen how that played out, but unfortunately that’s not the satisfying ending that’s given. In fact, I was not satisfied with the ending at all. It’s as if the whole investigation narrative was abandoned on a whim. I think Rocky’s whole storyline could have been removed from the novel, which would have reduced its length to that of a novella, and the story would still read the same but with much less fluff. However, if Rocky’s character was supposed to add juxtaposition to John Daniel’s, then that leaves me to wonder why there’s so much time spent with other characters for reasons that don’t relate to either John or Rocky’s storylines.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 6/10
A family drama saga, with just a touch of crime suspense, is what you’re going to get from “Where Sin Increased”. I think even calling it a drama is a bit of a stretch, because the story is actually quite pleasant for the most part. The story reads like a character driven soap opera centered within Winterhaven - as the days of their lives come to pass. If you’re picking this up thinking it’s a murder mystery, then you’re picking this one up for the wrong reason. This is a story about developing relationships, creating family bonds, and building a sense of community through religiosity. In which case, I believe the title “Where Sin Increased” does not do the pleasant town of Winterhaven any justice, as one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch in this novel by Sue Baumgardner. Sue has published other works including a collection of true ghost stories as well as other spiritual tales that deal with the afterlife. She has also written short stories for grade school children, and some poetry.
A family drama saga, with just a touch of crime suspense, is what you’re going to get from “Where Sin Increased”. I think even calling it a drama is a bit of a stretch, because the story is actually quite pleasant for the most part. The story reads like a character driven soap opera centered within Winterhaven - as the days of their lives come to pass. If you’re picking this up thinking it’s a murder mystery, then you’re picking this one up for the wrong reason. This is a story about developing relationships, creating family bonds, and building a sense of community through religiosity. In which case, I believe the title “Where Sin Increased” does not do the pleasant town of Winterhaven any justice, as one bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch in this novel by Sue Baumgardner. Sue has published other works including a collection of true ghost stories as well as other spiritual tales that deal with the afterlife. She has also written short stories for grade school children, and some poetry.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
