4 out of 4 stars
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Guilt is the first installment in the Guilt series written by David Taylor Black. The novel follows a writer named Dan Harris. Dan is recently separated from his wife, Susan, and has traveled to the Bahamas to gain inspiration for his next novel. At the library, Dan meets a young librarian named Cat who promises to help him gather historical information for his book. However, things quickly change for the worst. The two come across a dead man while out together. Even worst, the local police suspect that Dan was involved somehow. Now, Dan must attempt to clear his name and discover the real culprit before it is too late.
Guilt took me by surprise. Based on the summary, I had expected it to be your typical murder mystery. Instead, Black did an excellent job in handling topics such as the loss of a loved one while still maintaining the suspense and overall feel of a mystery novel. I thought that the characters in the novel were three-dimensional and well developed. Dan, for example, was a flawed, but likeable character. While he always tries to do the right thing, Dan is prone to fits of anger. Also, Dan did not always make the right decisions. After discovering the body, Dan touches it and goes through the man’s pockets to see if the man had any identification. Despite his intentions being pure, this action is not advised and is part of the reason why he was implicated in the murder. I enjoyed that the flawed decisions of the characters had consequences and helped to add to their realism. Additionally, I liked how Black was able to express the emotions of the characters through his writing. Moments of high tension and fear were accompanied by short, staccato sentences that accurately displayed the thought process of the character. This helped immerse me in the story and fully experience the emotions of the scene.
In terms of faults, I thought that the ending was a little bit confusing. While I didn’t have any lingering questions about the murder, the last few pages dealt with an important detail concerning a past event. I found myself flipping back to find out where one of the characters was mentioned. However, I remembered that Guilt was part of a series. Most likely, Black was attempting to set up the premise for the next book in the series. To improve the ending, I would have added a little bit of background information so that readers wouldn’t be confused.
Guilt contained very few errors and seemed to be professionally edited. The most major errors I noted dealt with the changing of the names of minor characters. For example, a woman named Mildred was incorrectly referred to as Myrtle.
I rate Guilt 4 out of 4 stars. The plot was engaging, and I enjoyed the depth of the characters. The errors present were minor and the issue with the ending did not detract from the quality of the novel. I would recommend the book to fans of murder mystery novels. However, the book graphically depicts murder and frequently mentions alcohol use. The novel may not be appropriate for younger or more squeamish readers.
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Editor's Note: The few minor errors noted by the reviewer have since been corrected.
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Guilt
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