Sunday Synopsis

 

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book, but I didn't necessarily REALLY like it. The main character, Carlotta Wren, has had some struggles in her life. Her parents, accused of embezzlement, fled town leaving her to raise her brother Wesley. Then years later Wesley, now 19, has a gambling addiction and owes money to loan sharks. Carlotta is still plugging away at her retail job at Neiman Marcus. Wesley is arrested, this time for computer hacking, and he is forced to get a job. What job? Picking up dead bodies and taking them to the morgue. What else can go wrong? Plenty!

While Carlotta is the main character, there are parts of the book from Wesley's point-of-view. I feel like sticking to one person would have been better suited for this book which is written in first person.

As I was reading, I realized that there is something many writers do which I despise. There seems to be a lot of lip-biting to show characters in distress. I don't bite my lip when I am nervous, anxious, or not sure how to answer a question. Another strange bit of wording this author uses is, "Carlotta pushed her tongue into her cheek. Am I supposed to take this literally? Or is it a signal for the reader that what Carlotta is about to say is tongue-in-cheek?

There was quite a bit of foreshadowing in the story which actually made events quite predictable, even though some of the events are unlikely to happen. The author attempts to develop characters into multi-dimensional people, but she didn't quite get there, so there is some characterization lacking. If an author wants the reader to develop a connection, the characters must seem like real people rather than caricatures.

Carlotta reminded me somewhat of Stephanie from Janet Evanovich's Plus series of novels or Kinsey Millhone from Sue Grafton's alphabet series. But Carlotta just isn't as cool or as likeable as Stephanie and Kinsey. But like her counterparts, Carlotta is involved in some sketchy situations.

Again, I liked it, but I'm not ready to continue the series, even though the first book ends on a definite cliff-hanger with only some resolutions to the conflicts.

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