Review of House of Dads

[Michele H]

[i][Following is a volunteer review of "House of Dads" by June Gillam.][/i]

[rwc=id473045-125]3 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]Hillary Broome’s mother abandoned her when she was young. Now that her father has passed away, she is clinging to the extended family she has left. She has never really been close with her cousins, but she is longing to connect on a deeper level when her uncle passes away. However, her uncle’s funeral kicks off a firestorm of family drama, including a possible murder.



The more Hillary gets involved with her cousin, Violet, and her Aunt Maggie, the more she realizes that it could be worse to have a horrible mother than no mother at all. The family business is suddenly at risk when her cousin Ted, the only remaining male member of the family, drops dead. Aunt Maggie is making matters worse by insisting that the family hold on to old-world traditions dictating the business must be run by a man. Was Ted’s death a murder or something else? Just how desperate is Violet to run the company? How far would Maggie go to keep her from running it?



June Gillam’s [i]House of Dads[/i] is a murder mystery full of unexpected twists and turns. Hillary is a relatable main character. She is strong, independent, and loves her work. The thing that makes her more realistic as a protagonist is that she also has some major insecurities. The Broome family drama that unfolds in the [i]House of Dads[/i] is the center of the plot in book two of the series. However, the author has also woven in a few other unforeseen plot twists to liven up the book even more. This is an extremely well-written and well-plotted mystery novel. I can’t honestly pinpoint a negative aspect of the book.



Gillam has a true talent for writing a well-planned plot with the right amount of character development to keep it fast-paced and exciting. The only slight criticism I would have is that I felt that one possible avenue for the murder motive was developed, then left dangling. I don’t want to give specifics because I don’t want to give away any of the plots. I felt there was significant time spent developing the motive without any resolution. However, I will add that this did not deter my enthusiasm for the storyline.



My rating for this novel is [b]4 out of 4 stars[/b]. This is an adult-themed book written for those who enjoy an unpredictable mystery. It contains very few profanities and has clearly been professionally edited. I recommend this book to all lovers of suspenseful thrillers. Additionally, I did not read the first book in the series so it can easily be read as a stand-alone book. I am looking forward to reading more books in the series to discover more about Hillary Broome.

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[i]House of Dads [/i]
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