Other authors have told me to be wary of reviews. For good reviews, they say “don’t let it go to your head,” and for bad reviews, they suggest “don’t let one bad review throw you off.” I get it. And while Twin Worlds has had only good reviews so far, I know somebody at some time will give the book fewer than 3 stars, and I’m going to be annoyed. Mind you, I’ll only be partly annoyed because someone gave me a small number of stars — that almost has to happen just by the law of averages. No, what would probably annoy me — and other authors — is that a small number of stars would be personally embarrassing, and suggest that I’ve put out a novel that is am embarrassment to myself.
Of course, in the light of day (and before I have any bad reviews), I know that isn’t the case. And that’s exactly what other authors say: take it with a grain of salt, learn from valid critiques and don’t let anything get to you. And they also suggest that authors should help other authors.
So, in the spirit of that, here’s a brief review of Take a Dive for Murder, by Millie Mack. Millie (actually her pen name) participated in the Author Fair at the St. Mary’s County Library on April 1st, and was one of the authors who gave me excellent advice.
“Take a Dive for Murder was a quick read and very engaging. The book contained lots of well-fleshed out characters, and I made a number of incorrect assumptions about the culprit on the way to the final solution. It is generally a cozy mystery, yet there was an element of suspense toward the end that really fit well with the story and characters as they were presented.
All in all, very worthwhile, and after seeing the author at an Author Fair last weekend, I’m ready to read more of the Faraday mysteries!”
And if you read Take a Dive for Murder, tell Millie Mack that you read about it here!
F.J.T.
