Book Review
Tight Rope
Burning Cove Book #3
by Amanda Quick
Berkley © 2019
Plot Summary:
Amalie Vaughn loves to fly. As the star trapeze artist of a traveling carnival show, Ramsey Circus. Until the night she is kidnapped and forced to ascend the trapeze with a killer. She escapes, but develops a fear of heights and will never be able to perform again.
Six months later, Amalie and Hazel have opened Hidden Beach Inn, moving past their former lives at Ramsey Circus. Little did they know that the Hidden Beach Inn was the scene of a psychic suicide and is rumored to be cursed. When their first guest is murdered onstage by his autonomous robot invention, Amalie vows work with Matthias Jones to help solve the murder to save her inn.
My Thoughts:
I was immediately suspicious of this book when it starts “Six Months Earlier”. Bad sign that the book has been significantly edited to the detriment of the story. The proper way to set up the story is the initial scene (which is a murder to create tension) then continue the story “Six Months Later”.
When I read this book, I’d recently finished books 1 and 2 of the Burning Cove series. In the first two books, I’d appreciated the character development, pacing, and the 1930s-era vibe. This book almost felt like it was in a different series.
The pacing was slower, such that I found myself getting distracted, not grabbed by the story. Additionally, two murders seemingly unrelated are supposed to be wound together for a twist, but it fell flat for me. It made for watering the story down more than creating or adding to any tension.
I also kept wondering about Adelaide Blake and Jake Truett from book 2. Oliver and Irene ward, Raina XX and Luther Pell from books 1 and 2 play prominently in this book. Oliver’s uncle Chester, the engineer, is also included in the story, as he helps dissect the murderous robot. But when we left book 2, Jake Truett is going to start an R&D firm in Burning Cove, and Adelaide plans to continue blending unique and medicinal teas.
It would have been seamless to incorporate these two into the story, if only to have Adelaide customize tea for customers at the Hidden Beach Inn. Tea service is a prominent feature at their Inn. Jake could have helped in understanding the functionality of the robot. I felt like these two characters could have easily been incorporated into the book without making the series difficult to understand for people who start at this book.
(The story was not capturing my full attention, so I mulled this thought over for the last half of the book, potentially making it a bigger issue than it otherwise would have been if the story had been more enthralling.)
I wanted so much to be gripped by this book like I was the first two, but this plot was convoluted, pacing was too slow, and the characters, though okay, were just okay. I expected more.