3 out of 4 stars
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Miller’s View: La Isla de la Muerte by Marlene W. Potts is a novella from the Miller’s View series. It is a mystery with a bit of the supernatural. As this is not the first book in the series, and I had not read any of the others, I was a little lost at first, but it did not take me long to get caught up with who the characters were and what was going on. This was helped by a short “what has gone on so far” found in the prologue.
The “Miller” of the title is Detective Jonathan Miller. He and his wife have just arrived at their honeymoon destination: La Isla de la Muerte. Yes, you have read that right, The Island of the Dead. Although the name is off-putting, the travel agent has assured Miller that, in spite of its name, it is actually a lovely destination and nothing bad has gone on at the island for centuries, and it is perfect for his honeymoon.
Shortly after their arrival, however, Miller intervenes in a domestic violence incident, and then the bodies begin piling up, and Miller is on the hot seat for them. In the fight to prove his innocence Miller has a secret weapon, a pair of round, gold-rimmed glasses. These glasses, created by a voodoo priestess, enable him to speak with that priestess as well as some spirits. They also have some additional special powers that he must secretly utilize to help prove his innocence and solve the mystery of who is behind the killings before any more people die. They might also help him solve a cold case death of a young girl. It is a case that seems to have some connection to what is currently going on.
Although the book touches on the supernatural, and violence, it is not graphic or needlessly violent. There are a couple of intense moments, but only those who are easily spooked, or adverse to books involving the supernatural, like voodoo and spirits, will be bothered by the subject matter, and this book is appropriate for YA and above, although it is probably too scary for younger audiences.
As I said above, this is a novella. I read it in just a few hours. The book moves along at a brisk pace, somewhat spare in extraneous details, as novellas tend to be, but having just enough to keep you interested, with a satisfying and complete ending (no cliffhangers here). However, it does contain spoilers for previous books in the series, so if you are one that is bothered by that kind of thing, then I suggest reading them first. After having read this book, I look forward to reading more by Potts.
I enjoyed the book enough that I would have liked more detail: descriptions of scenery, more in-depth relational descriptions, things like that, but that is a personal preference and would move the book from being a novella to a full-length novel. The main complaint I have is that the book could use one more time with an editor. There were some formatting issues with indentation, missing quotations or periods, or double words, and a couple of mistaken words. The book was still enjoyable, and for the most part, these minor mistakes are easily overlooked.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. A final edit to clear up any issues would move it up to a 4-star rating.
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Miller's View: La Isla de la Muerte
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