Thursday, August 13, 2020

Review of Deadly Black Pearls by Jonni Rich

 Jonni Rich has the ability to use words in a clever, artistic manner, but she doesn’t allow her remarkable skill to detract from the intriguing plots of her entertaining mysteries. Her novel, Deadly Black Pearls, is a captivating tale of life in south Louisiana. At first it seems simple, but as the story progresses, Jonni reins in her readers. As I was reading, I thought I had it all figured out, but I continued to read because the concept of genteel but fun-loving women of the South fascinated me and because I wanted to discover how the romance going on in the background would turn out. About halfway through the book, the story grabbed me, and I couldn’t stop reading. Neither could I read fast enough to satisfy my appetite for the conclusion of the mystery.

Jonni Rich is truly a skilled writer. She baits her readers. The story did not end as I suspected it would, but the conclusion, which I did not guess, was in front of my face from near the beginning. How does she keep all the plot elements inside her head? Her use of language, the way she hides a subtle romance behind the plot (which is what her mystery is all about), the amusing way she portrays a book full of eccentric characters, the inclusion of social satire, and the utilization of literary techniques (for example—a doppelganger) place her in a category of authors a cut above most.

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