Bookmarked for Murder

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Summer Read
Review: A previous reviewer said it kept him on the edge of his seat. I wondered if he read the same book I did. I found the story so tedious I could hardly make myself continue. There are so many characters with so little characterization or development I found it extremely difficult to read. I put it down five times vowing to quit before I got one-forth through the book. The only reason I slowly plodded on and on and on was I had nothing else to read.

What do I find as problems? Throughout the book is abrupt. The reader is lost through changes of location with little descrition. Abrupt changes of viewpoint with little explanation contribute to choppiness. Most characters are cardboard flat. The reader is confused by being thrown into a large reading group called "Books" where the characters snip at one another. (Is this from the author's actual experience in a small town?) A petty conflict between employees of the protagonist takes a large portion of the story but contributes nothing other than the author's ability to find far too many quotes from famous authors of the past. The central character is always in the "middle of something," "walking somewhere," "thinking about someone" and thus fills up the pages. A few pivotal points are never followed up (the snake-in-the-car???) Even a bit of porno is thrown in as a red herring. The plot mostly treads water except in the narcissistic mind of the central character. The final "white knight" ending did nothing. Many loose ends were left dangling or forgotten.

The author took a possible plot, added too many characters, gave them little personality, didn't bother to tell the reader why each character is there, does not describe the environment as contributory to the story, threw in a dash of "cutsy" here and there, and stirred it all together in a town with little more than a name within driving distance of Tulsa. Does the author live in Oklahoma? There is nothing to identify it with the Oklahoma I have lived in since 1971. It has the feel of having been written by a committee, and does not follow the old advertisement, "We serve no wine before its time."

It is the author's first published novel. Her next ones, I hope, will be set back for maturing before publication while she works on the subsequent ones.

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Summer Read
Review: I spent a long, lazy summer afternoon with Bookmarked for Murder and found it absolutely delightful. Since so many of today's writers pump their books full of sex and violence, I am pretty cynical about what I am likely to find between book covers. Bookmarked for Murder was a pleasant surprise. The author entertained me with the book's twists and turns without any lascivious content. I found characters that were reflective of real people living in a small town, far away from the pulsating nonsense of the big city. The book was refreshing, and I wouldn't hesitate to hand it to a young person. Thanks to the author for presenting a timely topic without trading on shock value.

Rating:
Summary: Mark this book well
Review: Marion Moore Hill's first novel is an excellent venture into the "mystery" genre and yet it defy's such a classification. It is a tidy little who-done-it that is more a story of insatiable curiosity and natural intelligence than it is of death, guns and tough guys. This is a story about a librarian who wanders, late one night on her way home from work, into the twisted world of militia hate groups and wife killers.
Juanita Wills is the head librarian of the Wyndham, Oklahoma Public Library. After working quite late one night she is walking home and, while passing the Methodist Church, hears a sharp cry. At the same time she notices the front door of the church ajar she is confronted by three hooded men running out of the church. Two of the men approach her but are ordered away by the third.
The frightened, but resolute Wills then enters the church and finds the comatose form of her friend, the Reverend Farris Asher lying on the floor of the sanctuary. On the wall of the sanctuary is found a crudely painted swastika and the words NIGER LUVER DOER OF DEVELS WERK. G.O.L.
It is at this point that Wills is launched off into, what is for her, totally uncharted, and, as she is soon to discover, very dangerous territory.
Wills is determined to track the cause of this assault and vandalism. She begins to research this case with an almost obsessive sense of curiosity that fly's in the face of direct orders from her friend, police Lt. Wayne Cleary. What Wills lacks in investigative experience she more than makes up for in what many investigators lack, the natural ability to recall seemingly insignificant items of information and relate them. She possesses an almost uncanny ability to "connect-the-dots" as it were.
Ms. Hill begins her portrayal of this small Oklahoma town and its inhabitants in an almost Norman Rockwell model. This gradually degenerates, however as Wills research begins to uncover the darker side of people she thought she knew.
As I proceeded through this story I began to see it almost as "News from Lake Wobegon" containing an article about the KKK. This story is certainly more a character driven than "mystery" driven in that Ms. Hill has the causation reveled about half way through the book.
The "who" that is revealed in the end is quite a clever revelation and brings this excellent first novel to a surprising conclusion.
A final note: do not expect a Sue Grafton or J.A. Jance or any of the other mainstream investigators. This is a different sort of character in a different sort of mystery.
This novel is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Mark this book well
Review: Marion Moore Hill's first novel is an excellent venture into the "mystery" genre and yet it defy's such a classification. It is a tidy little who-done-it that is more a story of insatiable curiosity and natural intelligence than it is of death, guns and tough guys. This is a story about a librarian who wanders, late one night on her way home from work, into the twisted world of militia hate groups and wife killers.
Juanita Wills is the head librarian of the Wyndham, Oklahoma Public Library. After working quite late one night she is walking home and, while passing the Methodist Church, hears a sharp cry. At the same time she notices the front door of the church ajar she is confronted by three hooded men running out of the church. Two of the men approach her but are ordered away by the third.
The frightened, but resolute Wills then enters the church and finds the comatose form of her friend, the Reverend Farris Asher lying on the floor of the sanctuary. On the wall of the sanctuary is found a crudely painted swastika and the words NIGER LUVER DOER OF DEVELS WERK. G.O.L.
It is at this point that Wills is launched off into, what is for her, totally uncharted, and, as she is soon to discover, very dangerous territory.
Wills is determined to track the cause of this assault and vandalism. She begins to research this case with an almost obsessive sense of curiosity that fly's in the face of direct orders from her friend, police Lt. Wayne Cleary. What Wills lacks in investigative experience she more than makes up for in what many investigators lack, the natural ability to recall seemingly insignificant items of information and relate them. She possesses an almost uncanny ability to "connect-the-dots" as it were.
Ms. Hill begins her portrayal of this small Oklahoma town and its inhabitants in an almost Norman Rockwell model. This gradually degenerates, however as Wills research begins to uncover the darker side of people she thought she knew.
As I proceeded through this story I began to see it almost as "News from Lake Wobegon" containing an article about the KKK. This story is certainly more a character driven than "mystery" driven in that Ms. Hill has the causation reveled about half way through the book.
The "who" that is revealed in the end is quite a clever revelation and brings this excellent first novel to a surprising conclusion.
A final note: do not expect a Sue Grafton or J.A. Jance or any of the other mainstream investigators. This is a different sort of character in a different sort of mystery.
This novel is well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent cozy mystery! A must read!
Review: Marion Moore Hill's first published novel, about a small-town librarian, her law-officer boyfriend, her pet mutt, and her witty library co-workers, keeps you guessing from beginning to end. Dealing deftly with such topics as militant groups, reading groups, gourmet food, and of course nosy librarians, Moore Hill weaves a complex plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat! A great read for fans of cozy mysteries!

Rating:
Summary: Great Cozy Mystery for a Rainy Afternoon
Review: On a rainy afternoon, I picked up a copy of Bookmarked for Murder. It was a delightful cozy mystery, in the same spirit as the "Cat Who" mysteries.

The heroine, Juanita Wills, is a fiesty, curious librarian who finds her community embroiled in controversy when a local minister is beaten and a church is left with hate-filled messages. She sets out to solve the mystery. Everyone in town, from politicians to lawyers to Juanita's co-workers, become suspects. Even though she becomes a target herself, Juanita uses her natural investigative ability to solve the mystery.

A lot of mystery, a little romance (with Juanita's police chief boyfriend Wayne), and a dollop of small town life, this mystery is a great read. Mystery lovers can only hope that Juanita (and Moore Hill) will find other mysteries to solve.

Rating:
Summary: Great Cozy Mystery for a Rainy Afternoon
Review: On a rainy afternoon, I picked up a copy of Bookmarked for Murder. It was a delightful cozy mystery, in the same spirit as the "Cat Who" mysteries.

The heroine, Juanita Wills, is a fiesty, curious librarian who finds her community embroiled in controversy when a local minister is beaten and a church is left with hate-filled messages. She sets out to solve the mystery. Everyone in town, from politicians to lawyers to Juanita's co-workers, become suspects. Even though she becomes a target herself, Juanita uses her natural investigative ability to solve the mystery.

A lot of mystery, a little romance (with Juanita's police chief boyfriend Wayne), and a dollop of small town life, this mystery is a great read. Mystery lovers can only hope that Juanita (and Moore Hill) will find other mysteries to solve.