Full Stop (Loretta Lawson Mystery)

Rating:
Summary: Good literary mystery
Review: A must-read for Loretta Lawson fans and lovers of literary thrillers. True, it helps to have read her previous novels in the series. While "Full Stop" is not the strongest entry (its USA location isn't that enthralling) Joan Smith is an interesting writer, and the series is well worth reading, especially if you are involved in any way with academia and literary criticism.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to her usual quality
Review: The Loretta Lawson character was still entertaining, with her misguided attempts to be "feminist" that usually backfire. All was well until the end of the book, when the author unaccountably drags in plot and characters from an earlier book, with no explanation. I can recommend the book for a plane ride or something

Rating:
Summary: Unappealing protagonist and disconnected plot twists
Review: While the premise of this book is interesting, I found the protagonist, Loretta Lawson, unappealing and character-less, and was confused by the anti-American sentiment and blatant stereotyping displayed throughout the book. The various plots within the book seem disconnected, as though one has had to read previous Loretta Lawson mysteries to know what is going on. An odd tie-in at the end to a previous love affair left me confused. Intellectual snobbism seems to run through the book. References to obscure authors and their work have little to do with the plot, and come across as an excuse to self-aggrandize, rather than adding to the reader's interest. I was very disappointed with this book, as the plot description seemed intriguing, but the characterizations bordered on actively unpleasant.