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Book Review of The Tender Mercy of Roses

The Tender Mercy of Roses
reviewed on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Sad, sweet and suspenseful, The Tender Mercy of Roses is an enjoyable, touching story of family loyalty. Its also a cautionary tales of what bad things can happen when people take that type of loyalty way too far.

Anna Michaels is a pseudonym for Peggy Webb, author of the Southern Cousins Mystery series. She paint a beautiful landscape with her words and carries the reader along smoothly through this unusual crime thriller. But Ms. Michaels used, what I felt was, an excess of metaphors. While most of them were creative and colorful, two or three per paragraph is overkill.

Also, I wish Pony had not been quite so idolized. Other than her mangling of the English language, Pony is an absolutely perfect person. This made it hard for me to find her character believable. Were all flawed -- it would have made for a better story if Pony had had some realistic flaws too.

The other players -- Jo Beth, Sam, Titus, even the cheerleading Maggie -- were well thought out and convincing. I was really pulling for all of them, hoping that everything would work out okay and that they could solve the murder without destroying their own lives.

All in all, I found The Tender Mercy of Roses to be a great book. Ms. Michaels can really spin a magical webb (sic) that will snare you and hold you until the last page is read!