All Signs Point to Murder

Rating:
Summary: Get thee to an editor
Review: Infuriatingly sloppy writing. At one point the main character is thinking about a piece of evidence she doesn't actually find until about twenty pages later. She also manages to confuse a white man with shocking white hair with her dark-haired, Native American love interest. The plot happily skips along to an obvious conclusion that is worth neither the time nor the money.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Kat Goldring's book was a "page turner" filled with multi-dimensional characters involved in plot that traveled at a fast and satisfying pace. The weaving of Indian folklore throughout made the book that much more interesting. The perpetual standoff between Willi and Quannah Lassiter added spice to the clever dialogue. I highly recommend this book to others who enjoy a good mystery, and I look forward to Ms. Goldring's next book.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful, whimsical and refreshing mystery
Review: Nickleberry is not quite like any other town in the state of Texas. For entertainment, the locals do not go to barbecues or play charades at a party. Instead, they have palm readers and tarot readers entertain everyone. These new age people are not charlatans either as they are next door neighbors.

High school English teacher Willi Gallagher has visions that come to her though she tries to close herself off from them. Willi is eavesdropping which she does whenever she can get away with it and overhears two girls D'Dee Oxhandler and Adela Zeta talking about the coven they joined. Apparently, both want to leave but they are afraid the unknown leader will do something to them. When Willi chaperones a group of students on sleep away trip to Galveston, both D'Dee and Adela are killed. The police insist there is no foul play but Willi intends to prove otherwise, especially to a psychic stud muffin in a Texas Ranger outfit.

ALL SIGNS POINT TO MURDER is a delightful, whimsical and out of the ordinary mystery that fans will simply adore. The characters are eccentric, colorful and warmly enter the readers' hearts. The lead protagonist is a contrary yet engaging heroine whose independent streak leads her into many problems. Kat Goldring is an up and coming author who should be put on mystery lovers to be read list.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Get thee to an editor
Review: The author implies that she is from Texas and is, at least partly, of American Indian descent. However, her book is just plain silly. I don't mean it's funny. It isn't! Her dialogue makes fun of Texans, Mexicans, Indians. The author further implies that she is a teacher, or at least knows about teachers. I am a native Texan and a 20+ year teaching veteran and a published writer, and I am insulted at the descriptions and mannerisms she uses in reference to Texas teachers and to her other characters. Also, the surnames and Christian names she gives to her characters are mostly ridiculous. Her writing is immature. I am surprised that Berkley chose to publish her work!

Rating:
Summary: Goldring Doesn't Know Texas
Review: The author implies that she is from Texas and is, at least partly, of American Indian descent. However, her book is just plain silly. I don't mean it's funny. It isn't! Her dialogue makes fun of Texans, Mexicans, Indians. The author further implies that she is a teacher, or at least knows about teachers. I am a native Texan and a 20+ year teaching veteran and a published writer, and I am insulted at the descriptions and mannerisms she uses in reference to Texas teachers and to her other characters. Also, the surnames and Christian names she gives to her characters are mostly ridiculous. Her writing is immature. I am surprised that Berkley chose to publish her work!

Rating:
Summary: An error-riddled, badly-written book
Review: This clunker is not worth your time. The dialogue is clumsy,
the plot transparent, and it's based on totally false premises.
Want an example? Here's an innocuous one--Goldring ascribes
paintings of Tolkien's characters to a "Depression-era" artist,
when the books were written during WWII! Goldring also has
the chutzpah to equate Wiccans with Satanists, and to totally
invent a cult which resembles the real religion in name only.
Even "flavor" materials about Native Americans which are
crucial to her "character development" are wrong and offensive.
"Indian buck", indeed! Stay away from this one.

Rating:
Summary: Rather a Mess
Review: This rating should actually be a 2-and-a-half star rating.

Initially, the characters in this book annoyed me. First of all, the author used names like "Carprithia Feather", "Ozzie Oxhandler" and "Hortense Horsenettle" for some of the secondary characters. That started my eyes rolling. Then the female lead, Willi Gallagher, who is supposed to be about 31 years old, started behaving in a fashion more suited to one of those nosy ladies of "a certain age" in British cozies. After that, characters are thrown at the reader left and right, without ever really giving them a firm place in the story.

Some of the characters were a little too idiosyncratic, but hopefully that will be toned down in future books. Also, Willi really used a lot of non-PC terms in regards to the male lead, Quannah Lassiter, a Native American. Political correctness is not a big bugaboo for me, but even I was surprised that she called him those names, considering that she is supposed to be an English teacher and should know the power of words. The cover states that this is the first in the Willi Gallagher Mysteries, so I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt. The story needed to be tightened up, though. There is one scene where Willi is looking at all the teacher-chaperones' personalized drinking cups; the only problem is, they're all on a students' tour to Galveston. Who brings along their own cup on a trip? Willi was bopping around from one scene to the other, really for no discernable reason. She was also just a little too spunky and foolhardy, which got to be annoying, considering the number of times she was physically harmed in the story. Anyone else hurt that much would be in bed for at least a week.

All in all, even after all that, it was an okay book that shows promise for the future sequels. It's a good book to while away some spare hours. The story did get better further into the book, and I did finish it. I'll probably read the next in the series, too, because I did like Willi and Quannah by the end.

Rating:
Summary: mystery reader from Cape Cod
Review: Willi Gallagher's curiosity and tenacity help her solve several brutal murders but only after some harrowing close calls. The comic relief offered by her neighbors and relatives provide delightful diversion from dark events. When Willi comments that sometimes you can be the top dog and sometimes the hydrant, I laughed out loud. Unlike many female authors, her male characters are strong and capable. The sheriff and his nephew, Lassiter, are admirable, and I liked that.