Monday, February 16, 2009

A LibraryThing review


Many of you know that I'm crazy about LibraryThing , a book-cataloguing website that appeals to the book nerd in me.

One of the most fabulous parts of LibraryThing is the Early Reviewers group, which gives away copies of books at or prior to publication in exchange for reviews. There is no requirement that the reviews be laudatory or even positive, and the range of participating publishers is impressive.

Here is my latest review for LibraryThing (also posted in LibraryThing, of course). If you're interested in seeing my profile or my other reviews, you can go here.


According to Their Deeds
Paul Robertson
Bethany House, 2008


According to Their Deeds is a thoughtfully written mystery that draws together Enlightenment and Christian themes. When one of his long-time clients is murdered, gentleman scholar and rare books dealer Charles Beale is pulled into the investigation. Along the way he pauses to consider what mercy, justice, honesty, and integrity mean in a thoroughly modern, bitterly political world.

There are some weaknesses in this telling. The pacing is maddeningly slow; for a suspense novel, the action is far too strung out to create any real tension. And much of the dialogue is preposterous. Mr Beale speaks as though he dropped out of a Jane Austen novel. His attitudes, too, may prove a little too traditional for many readers.

That said, there is some wonderful word play in the writing, and readers will find few literary mysteries quite so literary in their conceits. Readers may feel clever recognizing the many in-jokes and allusions, and numerous puns will have readers either laughing or groaning — or both.

This novel is an interesting hybrid: an inspirational thriller. It should appeal to a range of reading interests.

3/5 stars

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