Taking a Whack at Murder
I have gotten caught up in the Myrtle Beach Mysteries. There’s an ongoing storyline that I really want to see through to the conclusion, which I know happens in book seven. But first, I needed to go on a fatal round of golf with book six, Death on the Back Nine.
The series follows Clark Thomas, a widower who owns a bookstore in Myrtle Beach. Over the last year plus, he’s found himself involved in a series of murders that have happened in the area. Along the way, he’s been piecing together clues to what happened to his wife several years before.
This book finds Clark’s brother coming for a visit. He hasn’t seen Bo in several years. One thing Bo wants is to play golf on one of the fantastic golf courses throughout the area. Clark arranges for the two of them to join Detective Moody for a round early one Saturday morning. But, the foursome directly ahead of them isn’t the most fun to follow around the course. When they get to one hole with a wicked dogleg, one of that foursome hits their ball into the woods…and never returns. Someone has hit him with a golf club. With Clark on the spot and Moody’s partner out of town, the mayor asks Clark to help out. Will he be able to find the killer?
The series took a darker turn with this book. Even Clark is bothered by what he learns about the suspects along the way. It’s hard to find much sympathy for any of them. So know this isn’t quite cozy going in and you’ll be okay.
Honestly, I felt like Clark’s involvement here was a bit of a stretch. Yes, Clark has been recognized by the mayor for his previous help solving murders. But there are still things that didn’t sit well. And we really focus on the case to the point that some of the potential subplots are left to dangle. I’m not talking about the ongoing storylines, but some things introduced here that get wrapped up in a rush at the end.
The author does acknowledge at the end that this is the longest book in the series to date. It could have been shorter. We got several repetitive passages that would have been easy to cut or summarize. And, we got too much lead up to the murder. Yes, we were getting to know the victim and suspects, but we could have gotten the feel for the characters in fewer pages.
We also got extensive use of foreshadowing to the point that it was annoying.
I can’t fault the plot itself. It was very cleverly done, and I didn’t have it figured out before Clark did.
And I do like Clark. I didn’t feel like we saw too much of the regulars except for Detective Moody, but it was nice to get to know him better.
As is usually the case, we got a cliffhanger related to Clark’s wife’s murder to pull us into the next entry in the series. A predictable cliffhanger, in this case, but I am curious where it is all going to lead.
This series continues to be just okay. I good edit would solve so many of the issues with Death on the Back Nine. But I am hooked enough to give it at least one more book.
Here are the rest of the Myrtle Beach Mysteries.
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