Heather’s Bookshelf: The Gold of St. Croix
Author: Tom Sedar
Released: 06/25/20
Genre: Adult Mystery
“I stood up, looked around the street like a purse-snatcher getting ready to hit a mark, and walked off the porch, tucking the tinfoil and the crust-covered Spanish gold coin it hid deep into my pocket.”
“The Gold of St. Croix” follows “Mad Dog” Cotton as he investigates the disappearance of a local man in St. Croix.
When a local woman, Betsy, reports her husband went missing, Mad Dog is reluctant to take the case- until he receives an ancient gold coin as a retainer. Mad Dog brings the coin to a couple of experts and soon tragedy strikes. One is murdered and another attacked, catching Mad Dog and his wife, Cheri in the crosshairs.
Determined to find the culprit behind the disappearance and the violence, Mad Dog recruits his friends John and Ray to help. The violence continues to escalate and everyone’s safety is put in danger as the investigation continues. Secrets are revealed when everyone is not who they appear to be. Will Mad Dog solve the case or will his loved ones also be caught in the crosshairs?
Trigger Warning: violence, murder, arson, adult language, alcohol use
Overall, I was a bit torn on this story. I really enjoyed the first third of the book. The mystery of the disappearance and the treasure mixed in with some history and an assailant was intriguing. I also loved the setting and found the author clearly described the environment including having a good feel for “island life” and the people. Mad Dog is a flawed protagonist but his motivations and emotions are clear and it’s not difficult to cheer him on with his mission. I also found the introduction of Cheri and Jean to be welcome ancillary characters. However, the middle portion of tale felt redundant and sometimes portions or additional characters led to nowhere. All of the interest of the early-introduced ancillary characters was completely lost and instead a scavenger hunt of “who’s bad” ensued. The last third of the story turns it back on again resulting in a a twist that absolutely surprised me and also made a lot of sense in the context of the rest of the tale. The ending felt complete and resolved while also leaving open a clear possibility of other future tales to come. (I’d read a spin-off including Jean!)
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An adult mystery with flawed characters and a surprising twist but pacing issues that drag down the middle 1/3 of the tale.
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Check out my interview with Tom Sedar
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