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A review by littlepiscesreading
Sedona by Kerry Fryar Freeman
Sedona is complicated. An enjoyable mystery with a characterful cast. I should like it more than I do. Unfortunately its synopsis is untrue. It wasn’t a search for more that drove Cal to Sedona. It was her dying grandmother. And rather than spunk she suffers the stresses of underemployment, healthcare and making rent. I will give Sedona it’s due, however. It illustrates her troubles (and that of a tourist town in off-season) nicely without losing focus and wove the two together well.
I enjoyed the mystery as it played out. Her continual need to stop and rethink her own approach was interesting. At twenty-two, Cal is young and naive with a startlingly black and white worldview. Cal does inspire exasperation at times, but sympathy too. And I totally get her excitement sweeping her off her feet. Her growth is satisfying to watch unfold.
Most of the book is told in her perspective but diverges here and there. I mostly appreciated this because those chapters all provided great character work but it did feel in some instances like we readers weren’t trusted to understand what was going on ourselves. There were scenes in these chapters which were excellent and could only have come from this switch in perspective. Nonetheless, given Freeman’s ability to handle the nuance of her characters and settings, even while writing in Cal’s often limited view, I can’t help but wonder how necessary they were.
For the most part the book understands that it’s dealing with people’s beliefs but it doesn’t go out of its way to validate them or sneer down at its characters who believe. But it’s still fraught. There’s a lot of woo and stereotypes. Cal does hear ‘Native American flutes’ where there are none. A slur against the Romani makes its way in. And there is a miraculous recovery.
‘Behind the curtain of every wndow’ are secrets is also a bit of a stretch. There’s really only one mystery – what is going on at Belle Butte. Most of the town’s secrets tie into that so it doesn’t quite come across as ubiquitous though there are threads that could spin into a sequel. It stands solid on its own, however. That said I’m interested where Freeman goes next because of how much its strengths stand out.
Thanks to iReadBookTours and Kerry Fryar Freeman. I leave this review voluntarily.
I enjoyed the mystery as it played out. Her continual need to stop and rethink her own approach was interesting. At twenty-two, Cal is young and naive with a startlingly black and white worldview. Cal does inspire exasperation at times, but sympathy too. And I totally get her excitement sweeping her off her feet. Her growth is satisfying to watch unfold.
Most of the book is told in her perspective but diverges here and there. I mostly appreciated this because those chapters all provided great character work but it did feel in some instances like we readers weren’t trusted to understand what was going on ourselves. There were scenes in these chapters which were excellent and could only have come from this switch in perspective. Nonetheless, given Freeman’s ability to handle the nuance of her characters and settings, even while writing in Cal’s often limited view, I can’t help but wonder how necessary they were.
For the most part the book understands that it’s dealing with people’s beliefs but it doesn’t go out of its way to validate them or sneer down at its characters who believe. But it’s still fraught. There’s a lot of woo and stereotypes. Cal does hear ‘Native American flutes’ where there are none. A slur against the Romani makes its way in. And there is a miraculous recovery.
‘Behind the curtain of every wndow’ are secrets is also a bit of a stretch. There’s really only one mystery – what is going on at Belle Butte. Most of the town’s secrets tie into that so it doesn’t quite come across as ubiquitous though there are threads that could spin into a sequel. It stands solid on its own, however. That said I’m interested where Freeman goes next because of how much its strengths stand out.
Thanks to iReadBookTours and Kerry Fryar Freeman. I leave this review voluntarily.