Book 64, 2015
Nov. 7th, 2015 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeThursday night, I finished reading Conspiracies and Stuff, which is an ebook by author Kendra Ashe. It is the first installment in her "Dreamland Junction" series.
The story is set in Dreamland Junction, which is near Area 51 in Nevada. Kat Parker is a waitress, as well as a writer. She tries to expose conspiracies relating to Area 51, UFOs, the "men in black", etc. One of her friends believes he's a victim of alien abduction, while another friend has just learned she's pregnant, even though she's been in a dry spell. In the meantime, Kat stumbles onto the scene of a murder and learns the dead woman's young son is missing. In addition, Kat's evil ex-boyfriend shows up at the diner and causes trouble for her again. When he's found murdered later, Kat is more involved in the mysterious goings-on than she wants to be. Throw in a mysterious stranger and a paranoid, former Area 51 worker, and the story had more than its fair share of colorful characters.
The premise was interesting, but I felt like I was missing something. This was meant to be the first book in a series, yet it seemed I was picking the story up in the middle. In addition, it ended poorly. Not merely a cliff-hanger, but an ending that lacked any resolution at all. There were some editing issues that were vexing, such as an overabundance of commas. I had to re-read several lines to make them sound right in my head. The narrative was choppy and disjointed.
This one gets a three out of five (good idea, poor execution):
♦♦♦
The story is set in Dreamland Junction, which is near Area 51 in Nevada. Kat Parker is a waitress, as well as a writer. She tries to expose conspiracies relating to Area 51, UFOs, the "men in black", etc. One of her friends believes he's a victim of alien abduction, while another friend has just learned she's pregnant, even though she's been in a dry spell. In the meantime, Kat stumbles onto the scene of a murder and learns the dead woman's young son is missing. In addition, Kat's evil ex-boyfriend shows up at the diner and causes trouble for her again. When he's found murdered later, Kat is more involved in the mysterious goings-on than she wants to be. Throw in a mysterious stranger and a paranoid, former Area 51 worker, and the story had more than its fair share of colorful characters.
The premise was interesting, but I felt like I was missing something. This was meant to be the first book in a series, yet it seemed I was picking the story up in the middle. In addition, it ended poorly. Not merely a cliff-hanger, but an ending that lacked any resolution at all. There were some editing issues that were vexing, such as an overabundance of commas. I had to re-read several lines to make them sound right in my head. The narrative was choppy and disjointed.
This one gets a three out of five (good idea, poor execution):
♦♦♦
