[Gatto Nero]

I'll probably get bashed for this since the author is a member of the forum, but I read it over the weekend and was really disappointed. It was cool to have all the references to places we all know all over the lake but even that wore thin after just a few chapters. I felt as though this book was put together just for the purpose of selling to the locals because the story happened locally. And those local references seemed very forced to me. He stuck them in places that really had nothing to do with the story just for the sake of doing so. For example; "Vanya and Kevin stood on the Wolfeboro docks, enjoying their ice-cream cones outside of Ben & Jerry's in Center Harbor while watching locals and tourists mill by." Where did Center Harbor come from in that sentence?

I certainly don't claim to be literary critic but in my opinion the main premise of the story was ridiculous and the writing was sophomoric and monotonous. I wanted to scream every time the main character said "um". I didn't want to give up on the book before it was finished but I really couldn't wait until I was done with it. Not because I was dying to find out who done it, but just so that the pain would end and I could get back to Words with Friends.

I bought mine for $3 on Amazon so I really can't say I was cheated out of any money, just my time. It might be cool to have the hardcover on your coffee table for conversation's sake but certainly not for the story inside.

My $0.02. Let'er rip.