Official Review: The Case of the Missing Corpse

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Scerakor
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Official Review: The Case of the Missing Corpse

Post by Scerakor »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Case of the Missing Corpse" by D.M. Stover.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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This is a story about triplets that were separated at birth and grew up living completely different lives. One brother, who is running an illegal "get rich" scheme through the local casino, runs into one of his doppelgangers and makes plans to exploit this coincidence. Unbeknownst to the two others, the FBI agent investigating the casino's schemes is none other than the third brother. A winding tale of misinterpretation, misdirection, and mistaken identity ensues.

The Case of the Missing Corpse by D.M. Stover is a short Crime/Thriller novel that focuses on a casino's life insurance scheme. The story revolves around the lives of three brothers that don’t even know they have siblings, let alone are triplets separated at birth. Moving at a relatively quick pace this book keeps the reader guessing what the next twist will be.

This book has a couple of good things going for it. The most prominent and what I liked most about this book is the theme/plot itself. The potential for a story with three unknown (to each other) brothers getting caught up in a criminal investigation has endless potential. I enjoyed some of the twists that the author embedded in the book based off of this theme. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book is the gentle smattering of light humour, despite the relatively serious undertones of the book.

There were several aspects of this book that I disliked. First, the writing itself lacked depth and seemed quite flat, despite being technically (for the most part) correct. Second, the author has an annoying habit of re-explaining things, often in parentheses or through character's dialogue, that the reader wouldn't yet have had the time to forget. Third, the female characters in the book have no depth at all. After escaping being kidnapped, surviving a high-speed chase with gunfire, and dealing with the death of her husband, one of the characters is still extremely giddy to go clothes shopping with her new “BFF" that she just met. Finally, and what I disliked the most, was how a couple of adult scenes were written. I have no problems with sex scenes in a novel when they are well done/written, but when a phrase like, “she was moving up and down on his very happy man thing" is used, it is fairly off-putting.

Since I really do see potential in the design and plot of the story, I decided to give this book 2 out of 4 stars. The idea behind the book was good enough to merit the second star, but with all of the criticisms I've outlined above, I have to take at least two off. If you are an avid reader of crime novels and can't miss even one, you may still enjoy this book. If you need your literature to be extremely well written, polished to the maximum, and for all your characters to have depth to them, this may not be for you.

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The Case of the Missing Corpse
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Marissa Michael
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Post by Marissa Michael »

I think re-explaining things will benefit those who can only pick up a book occasionally because of their job demanding most of their time. Thank you for your in-depth review.
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Scerakor
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Post by Scerakor »

ParadoxicalWoman wrote: 05 Dec 2017, 02:58 I think re-explaining things will benefit those who can only pick up a book occasionally because of their job demanding most of their time. Thank you for your in-depth review.
Normally I would agree with you, especially for massive tomes of sci-fi/fantasy which would definitely benefit from some repetition. That being said, for a relatively short novel (124 pages) it may be unnecessary.
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Post by kandscreeley »

I love the thought of a story about triplets that were separated at birth. It's too bad that the writing fell flat. Sometimes there's a special something that you can't put your finger on that a book doesn't have. Thanks for the review, though.
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Post by MsTri »

Man, what a bummer. It's so disheartening to be excited to sink one's teeth into what seems like a good book, only to come away with a bitter taste in one's mouth; execution is 90% of a book, if not more!.. I hope the author comes out with a revision at some point because it really does sound like a story I'd like to read.
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Post by Manang Muyang »

Reading "triplets that were separated at birth," I am reminded of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors." Perhaps the author (D.M. Stover) was inspired by that classic story of mistaken identities.

While I am a fan of the C/T/M/H genre and love a good laugh, your review tells me to steer clear of this book. I'll leave the triplets and their shallow ladies alone to find the missing corpse.
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Post by Gunnar Ohberg »

"Very happy man thing." There's actually a contest for the worst-written sex scenes. This book should enter.
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Post by Job Njoroge »

I love thrilling books but I will steer clear of this one due to the crude adult content in it.
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Post by Mercelle »

The moment I started reading this review I thought, this would make a great movie or TV series. Too bad it's lacking in n some aspects as a book.
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Post by Vickie Noel »

I totally loved the concept of the book, triplets separated at birth, discovering each other in the most unsavory of circumstances: crime. It really would have made a superb bestseller if not for the mighty fall in its execution. I definitely want to read the book but can't stomach female characters lacking depth. I hope it would be revised soon. Thanks for letting us know, Scerakor.
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Sahani Nimandra
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

The story sounds interesting but the reviewer has shown his likes and dislikes in general. I would not mind taking a step to read this book to see if I can agree or disagree to what the reviewer has said thank you!
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Post by JackieTackett »

I want to read the whole book and see if it's good from what I read it does seem good
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