Untimely Ripped

Rating:
Summary: Untimely Ripped
Review: "Untimely Ripped" is a good satisfying mystery, not in the sense of one of those comfortable British mysteries where the villain gets it, the lovers after various tribulations find each other, and all the loose ends are tidied up in the end. And it's not a thriller with all those descriptions of mutilated bodies. "Untimely Ripped" is a story about the mysteries in various people's lives and the consequences. The characters find that they need to live with, or die because of, the choices they've made, including the ones that we never realize we're making until it's too late. Deciding who's the villain, well, that's the reader's decision, and it's not an easy one when people either think they're doing things for the best or just letting things happen. Mr. Weinsheimer has written his characters with sympathy. It's all too easy to imagine yourself in the same situations as any of the characters and making the same cared/stupid/unthinking decisions. About the best way I can describe my reaction to "Untimely Ripped" is that I found myself trying to continue the story after finishing the book.

Rating:
Summary: an okay read
Review: "Untimely Ripped" is a good satisfying mystery, not in the sense of one of those comfortable British mysteries where the villain gets it, the lovers after various tribulations find each other, and all the loose ends are tidied up in the end. And it's not a thriller with all those descriptions of mutilated bodies. "Untimely Ripped" is a story about the mysteries in various people's lives and the consequences. The characters find that they need to live with, or die because of, the choices they've made, including the ones that we never realize we're making until it's too late. Deciding who's the villain, well, that's the reader's decision, and it's not an easy one when people either think they're doing things for the best or just letting things happen. Mr. Weinsheimer has written his characters with sympathy. It's all too easy to imagine yourself in the same situations as any of the characters and making the same cared/stupid/unthinking decisions. About the best way I can describe my reaction to "Untimely Ripped" is that I found myself trying to continue the story after finishing the book.

Rating:
Summary: an okay read
Review: I purchased this novel because it was a mystery set in Minnesota. While there is a mystery element to the novel, it is not for the reader of the cozy, detective fiction, or adventure/suspense novel. This novel might fit best into the category of a psychological mystery novel, but even that is a stretch. It was hard for me to like the protagonist who seemed cold and self-involved. Overall, female characters are another problem. The three central women characters are reduced to sketches, almost caricatures. For instance, a central love interest is a farmer's daughter with the unfortunate name "Libby Farina." (Farina is a grain. I don't need to explain the connection between Libby and farms...) Despite the low marks for defining female characters with any immediacy, and some gaps in the plot, the novel is articulately written. However, the ending is histrionic, and I couldn't help connecting an evil character in this novel with an evil accomplice character in Austin Powers. Finally, the novel had fewer of the quirky regional characters/references than I'd anticipated. If other readers are looking for mysteries written in Minnesota, I suggest Ellen Hart's highly literate novels or John Sandford's dynamic Prey novels. These authors write interesting plots, and their descriptive passages of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and outstate Minnesota are woven seamlessly into their novels. For a first novel, this one's okay.