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Black Diamond Death (2011)

by Cheryl Bradshaw(Favorite Author)

3.51 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

146101123X (ISBN13: 9781461011231)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Createspace

series

Sloane Monroe

review 1: This book was only so-so.Part of the problem for me was a gap in main character Sloane Monroe’s back story: how and why she became a PI. Her sister was murdered, her killer never caught. It’s sufficient motivation but I doubt Utah lets anyone go into business as a PI without some training or prior experience. It would have been nice to know how she got it.Bradshaw has some leaps in her storytelling, too. At one point, Sloane goes to a potential suspect’s house but we don’t know how Sloane knew where she lived (unless I missed the information earlier in the book).Sloane wears flip-flops even in winter. It’s enough of a quirk to make her interesting but an odd choice of footwear for someone who hates cold as much as she professes to.The story – Sloane invest... moreigates the death of a realtor on a ski slope – was well thought out and with enough twists to make it engaging. But, as I’ve noticed in so many mysteries lately, Sloane stumbles around blindly until everything suddenly falls into place near the end. And I guessed the guilty party long before Bradshaw revealed it.I’ll read more books in this series should they come my way but I won’t actively hunt them.
review 2: Black Diamond Death by Cheryl Bradshaw is book one of the Sloane Monroe series set in modern-day Park City Utah. I was attracted by the Park City setting, my love of skiing, and because “black diamond” is the trail marker for expert ski slopes. Unfortunately, after the prologue the book has nothing whatsoever to do with skiing. It doesn’t even need to be set in Park City, only somewhere with snow on the ground, so the author can illustrate how quirky her protagonist is (she wears flip-flops in the snow).Sloane Monroe investigates a skier death because the skier’s sister insists it was no accident. The ski resort certainly does not want publicity, and the police don’t want a case, so Sloane faces opposition in her quest for information. She discovers a violent ex-fiancé, and the crime seems fairly obvious. However she has no proof. So she continues investigating and discovers other crimes plus a more likely suspect. The mystery is believable and the case progresses at a reasonable pace.Sloane’s boyfriend Nick is a policeman. I enjoyed the description of a cute trick Nick taught Sloane’s dog, Lord Berkeley: “Nick cocked his thumb and trigger finger and aimed straight at him. ‘Pow!’ Lord Berkeley fell to the ground. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes and gave up the ghost. He remained still for a few dramatic moments until Nick gave him the okay signal and then sprung back to life to claim his treat, a pint-sized bone of beef.”The book desperately needs editing. Awkward sentences stop the story flow completely. Words are used incorrectly. If grammar and style do not matter to you as a reader, skip the rest of this review and go ahead and try the book.“Sepia tone photographs adorned the walls of the Daily Mining Company circa 1890 and Historic Main Street before the fire scintillated in 1897 and destroyed over 200 business and homes.” The author is probably trying to tell us: 1. the walls of the ski resort were adorned with sepia photographs 2. the photographs depicted the Daily Mining Company and Historic Main Street , circa 1890 3. a fire in 1897 destroyed over 200 businesses and homesI never did figure out what the author meant by this: “In the corner of the room a fire beguiled me to absorb its warmth. I removed my gloves and stuck both hands inside.” Where did the protagonist stick her hands? “I allowed time for my fingers to thaw and then fell in line at the front desk.” I found this sentence really odd. I can relate to having cold hands entering a ski lodge, but I can’t imagine standing still to wait for my fingers to warm up –before– getting in line to wait (again) for service at the front desk. It would make more sense to say her fingers gradually thawed while she waited in line at the front desk.“I pushed though the entrance door and was met with a forceful tug that launched me forward and brought me up close and personal to a familiar face on the opposite end.” Does this mean someone she knew grabbed her as she came out the door?“The morning sun shone its rays through the trees and melted away pieces of fallen snow that had rested on its branches.” The sun doesn’t have branches.“In the summer month’s water skiers, boaters, and fisherman filled the lake, but in winter it turned solid white and was ensconced with snow.” Multiple problems: Wrong use of the possessive, singular should be plural, wrong use of ensconce.“I mulled it over for a few minutes before I constituted a response.” Constituted?I wonder what this slang phrase spoken by a waitress means? “Keep your alans on.”More odd phrasing:- “The check came and I stood, or tried to stand, and in the process I noticed my vision had changed since I first arrived.”- “It took a moment, but somewhere in Nick’s head a light went on.”- “My stomach twisted with disquietude and I watched through squinted eyes. Both outstretched hands launched their fingers in the air to protrude the ball forward and two seconds later, the Lakers were in control.”- “He shook his head and picked his drink back up and ingurgitated all of it.”- “The sun blazed down and its warmth coalesced on my skin.”“The next morning I exercised my options and phoned a friend.” The story is not referring to stock options, just saying the protagonist phoned a friend. No one I know says “I exercised my options” before telling me what they did.“I recognized the sound of Maddie chomping away on a piece of gum like a cow chewing its cud.” (mixed metaphors)“I filled her in on the details and got her up to speed.” (redundant)“I transferred the weight from one of my butt cheeks to the other. It didn’t help.” This paragraph is inserted into a description of a meeting with the ski resort owner. There is no previous mention of any condition that would possibly be alleviated by shifting weight in a chair. It’s a curious sentence, and pointless to include it in the story. The weird phrasing continues: “Marty’s eyes broadened. He leaned all the way back in his chair and hung there for a brief time before he moved his body forward again.” A more succinct and normal way to express this: “Marty reared back, eyes wide.”Wonder if “crin” was the intended word, and if so, what does it mean? “Zoey peeled back the corner of a crin red curtain and watched us approach.”Black Diamond Death was available free from Amazon in a Sloane Monroe trilogy: Black Diamond Death, Sinnerman, and I Have a Secret. I read Black Diamond Death all the way to the end because it meets the criteria for several reading challenges I’m in: e-book, first of a series, new author, colors, etc. Due to the lack of editing in Black Diamond Death, I do not plan to read more by the author. less

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