SMART, BUT DEAD
By: Nancy G. West
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Perhaps it was the premise of the story that Aggie Mundeen is on the search for a way to stay young (perhaps forever) and that her quest was driven by her desire to be appealing to the man of her dreams, but for some reason, I was almost immediately put off by the character in this story. I have not read the first two books in the series and those may have a deeper explanation of why Aggie is obsessed with the unattainable and isn’t looking for deeper reasons for her unhappiness with herself.
Apparently, the author is aware of these flaws in her character and has other characters point out some of the problems, including Sam, the man that Aggie wants to spend her life with. By the end of the story, I felt that Aggie was perhaps on her way to finding out her true feelings and issues and I found that I liked her better for it.
The mystery is one where Aggie does everything she should not do. Again, in some weird fashion to impress Sam who is a detective in the San Antonio area of Texas. If he cautions her not to do something, in the next few pages, she does it. If there is a good way and a bad way, she takes the bad way. At least in the story, she gets in trouble for her headstrong ways but this is the type of character who isn’t the most appealing for me – one who blithely breaks the law and gets in the way of officers because she thinks she knows best.
Also, the whodunnit is dropped on the reader in the last few pages of the book. There isn’t a set of clues to lead you to the killer, you just find out as Aggie does when she becomes threatened, too. Again, not my favorite type of mystery as I don’t feel that I can participate in solving the crime.
What I did like was the author’s ability to write a compelling story with lots of information in it. I also liked the “advice” that Aggie gave the readers of her newspaper column on staying young. It was actually at odds with her search for youth as her advice is to enjoy life and live it to its fullest.
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Henery Press, via Netgalley.
Perhaps it was the premise of the story that Aggie Mundeen is on the search for a way to stay young (perhaps forever) and that her quest was driven by her desire to be appealing to the man of her dreams, but for some reason, I was almost immediately put off by the character in this story. I have not read the first two books in the series and those may have a deeper explanation of why Aggie is obsessed with the unattainable and isn’t looking for deeper reasons for her unhappiness with herself.