Review of The Mexia Music Murders
Posted: 25 Aug 2023, 17:33
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Mexia Music Murders" by Steven Wilcox.]
Mexia Music Murders for me is a 2 out of 5. To start with what needs work is that there are multiple grammar and spelling mistakes. Most of which are just because someone’s dialogue did not end with a quotation mark. The book also just needed much more detail throughout. Characters are not described or even at all, their actions, and their relationships. Most of the time, these details were mentioned or commented on as a one-liner way later than they needed to be. Time in the book is not brought up well. The writing style therefore also changes frequently which means it is very inconsistent and that is not good and very confusing to the reader. Such as perspectives explained about the characters through this third person lens changes with no warning and is therefore confusing especially for a book trying to be a mystery/thriller book. Formatting was also done very bizarrely, inconsistent, and sometimes unnecessary. For instance, there are breaks in the chapters demonstrated by a line of pound symbols and there are a couple times they don’t appear when they should or added when they didn’t need to be there. Thoughts only stood out different from the rest of the sentence by italicizing much later in the book – which if that was a formatting choice should have been done throughout the book. Surprises were made solely surprising because they were introduced in such a way that made me feel like I missed a page - they were just not introduced well. Some plot points just seemed too convenient to move forward like the character’s relationships or how they just so happen to know certain things – and there was almost no explanation as to why those points were there. Most of the characters were also just extremely unlikable – I had almost no connection or investment in their well-being as a result. I am also someone trying to pursue a forensic career and so I would also recommend doing more research on how those tests work as I was left confused by the plausibility of some of the statements made in the book.
The great things about this book started with the Introduction. It was wonderfully written at the very beginning and then the writing style changed to this rushed, no detail, no explanation structure which I have already stated my opinion on. The overall plot and what it was about was very original – I have not read it before – and the twist at the end, though introduced weirdly was great. It was explained well in the Epilogue, and it made me satisfied with that result. There are tension/comedy relief bits that were incorporated nicely and truly made me laugh and did as it was intended. Overall, I think with the tweaks, this will be a good book to introduce to young people trying to get into this genre especially since there is no profanity or explicit sexual content.
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The Mexia Music Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mexia Music Murders for me is a 2 out of 5. To start with what needs work is that there are multiple grammar and spelling mistakes. Most of which are just because someone’s dialogue did not end with a quotation mark. The book also just needed much more detail throughout. Characters are not described or even at all, their actions, and their relationships. Most of the time, these details were mentioned or commented on as a one-liner way later than they needed to be. Time in the book is not brought up well. The writing style therefore also changes frequently which means it is very inconsistent and that is not good and very confusing to the reader. Such as perspectives explained about the characters through this third person lens changes with no warning and is therefore confusing especially for a book trying to be a mystery/thriller book. Formatting was also done very bizarrely, inconsistent, and sometimes unnecessary. For instance, there are breaks in the chapters demonstrated by a line of pound symbols and there are a couple times they don’t appear when they should or added when they didn’t need to be there. Thoughts only stood out different from the rest of the sentence by italicizing much later in the book – which if that was a formatting choice should have been done throughout the book. Surprises were made solely surprising because they were introduced in such a way that made me feel like I missed a page - they were just not introduced well. Some plot points just seemed too convenient to move forward like the character’s relationships or how they just so happen to know certain things – and there was almost no explanation as to why those points were there. Most of the characters were also just extremely unlikable – I had almost no connection or investment in their well-being as a result. I am also someone trying to pursue a forensic career and so I would also recommend doing more research on how those tests work as I was left confused by the plausibility of some of the statements made in the book.
The great things about this book started with the Introduction. It was wonderfully written at the very beginning and then the writing style changed to this rushed, no detail, no explanation structure which I have already stated my opinion on. The overall plot and what it was about was very original – I have not read it before – and the twist at the end, though introduced weirdly was great. It was explained well in the Epilogue, and it made me satisfied with that result. There are tension/comedy relief bits that were incorporated nicely and truly made me laugh and did as it was intended. Overall, I think with the tweaks, this will be a good book to introduce to young people trying to get into this genre especially since there is no profanity or explicit sexual content.
******
The Mexia Music Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon