White House (A Lara Wright Mytery Book One)

Author:  S. T. Mason
Genre:   Mystery

Digital Book
Amazon Digital
116 Pages
$3.81 Amazon
December 9. 2018

⭐⭐

Lara is a writer who cannot write - a fact that is quickly causing her a financial and emotional headache.  So when her best friend, the impossibly enthusiastic Gem, suggests a weekend in the Scottish countryside, it seems like the perfect way to break her writer's block.  A quiet place to get her most recent article finished is exactly what Lara needs in her life right now.

But what she couldn't have anticipated is that things would go wrong, so wrong, so quickly.  Before she knows it, there is an awkward hot tub incident, a body in the wine cellar, and whole lot of secrets to uncover.  Cut off by snow and terrible Wi-Fi in the rugged Highlands, it's down to Lara to unravel the mysteries of White House before anyone else gets hurt.

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When Lara reluctantly agrees to accompany her best friend Gem on a weekend house party, she doesn't expect what she considers a group of close-knit people who don't really talk to each other.  She certainly doesn't expect to see a dead body in a utility room.  And she doesn't expect that she's the one everyone is depending upon to solve the murder...

I honestly don't know how this got five stars.  It's extremely short, and there's no character development at all, not even from Lara.  All I could glean from her personality is that she's a judgmental spinster who would really like to be anywhere except where she is.

Then, the author needs to hire a proofreader.  It's quite disconcerting to read one word and know that another is actually meant.  Such as using "complement" instead of "compliment" or "poured" instead of "pored."  One does not 'pour' over a book unless one has liquid in their hands and wishes to destroy said book.  This was said more than once - that she was "pouring" over things she should have been "poring" over.  Please purchase a dictionary or a Thesaurus.  It will help greatly.  (And I have no idea what Simon meant when he said: ...someone is hiding in this lump or someone here hurt my pal..."  What is 'lump' supposed to mean exactly?)  Then, (again) "Miranda and Simon, you can go and look downstairs.  Daniel, you and I will cover downstairs."  Well, if everyone is looking downstairs, then what about upstairs?  Or the main floor?  A lot of 'too' was said instead of 'to,' as in 'belongs too this person.'  No, it does not.  If you're going to write a book, please take the above advice.  Thank you.

Even the blurb is incorrect - first, there is no "hot tub incident."  There is one scene where Lara is asked if she wants to get into the hot tub, she declines, and the host says he will get her in next time and leaves.  How is that an 'incident?'  Also, the body was found in what was referred to as the Utility Room, not a wine cellar.  Certainly, there was wine there, but it was not the cellar, since it was on the main floor off the kitchen.  There was also no WiFi at all, so the police could not get there, which necessitated Lara solving the murder.  (Why, you ask?  Because she writes spooky ghost stories she is apparently qualified to solve murders).

This could have been a nice little story, if very short, but on top of none of the characters being fleshed out, all we have are a group of people doing things they shouldn't have been doing in the first place.  The main suspects all had a nasty streak, so I really didn't care who the killer was.  It was very ho-hum as far as a plot.  I'm not sure I'd read another Lara Wright mystery by this author at this point.  There would have to be far more in-depth characterization, and more descriptions of the surrounding countryside so one could get a 'feel' for it.  Because of all grammatical errors and being so short, two stars.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L8MLLWC/ref=pe_385040_117923520_TE_M1DP

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2979942131