I have sort of a love-hate relationship this book. I liked the basic plot in the book; it takes place on the Mississippi River in April 1865 at the end of the Civil War. The author says the explosion of the riverboat mentioned in the book is based on true events of the time.
Some of the things I didn't like about the book:
1) I thought the writing was amateurish, not polished;
2) I couldn't understand the actions of the hero in regards to the riverboat boiler. What was his real interest here and why did he do some of the stuff he did? There was no apparent reason because he wasn't the owner or captain of the boat..things just didn't fit right here.
3) Some of the language was too 20th century and not in keeping with the time period. In the hundreds of historical books I've read, I've never read some of the slang used as was written in this story.
4) Without posting spoilers, I thought some of the interaction between the hero and heroine were implausible;
5) What happened to the villain in the end just didn't fit---too far-fetched and just wouldn't happen. Deals with law enforcement might be made, but not the golden parachute deal this guy got...not in 1865. More than likely, he would have been taken out back and shot!
On my personal rating scale of 1-4 stars, I gave this one 2 stars. Normally, this is the type of book I would not finish but I did...I'm not sure why...I guess I just wanted to find out what happened. I don't think I'll read anything else by this author.
Some of the things I didn't like about the book:
1) I thought the writing was amateurish, not polished;
2) I couldn't understand the actions of the hero in regards to the riverboat boiler. What was his real interest here and why did he do some of the stuff he did? There was no apparent reason because he wasn't the owner or captain of the boat..things just didn't fit right here.
3) Some of the language was too 20th century and not in keeping with the time period. In the hundreds of historical books I've read, I've never read some of the slang used as was written in this story.
4) Without posting spoilers, I thought some of the interaction between the hero and heroine were implausible;
5) What happened to the villain in the end just didn't fit---too far-fetched and just wouldn't happen. Deals with law enforcement might be made, but not the golden parachute deal this guy got...not in 1865. More than likely, he would have been taken out back and shot!
On my personal rating scale of 1-4 stars, I gave this one 2 stars. Normally, this is the type of book I would not finish but I did...I'm not sure why...I guess I just wanted to find out what happened. I don't think I'll read anything else by this author.
