RSS
Encounter by Deadline, Mel Taylor
Mel Taylor, known here in Fort Lauderdale as a long-time TV reporter, has published Encounter by Deadline, a follow-up to Murder by Deadline, another Matt Bowen mystery. As in the first book, Matt’s work as a television reporter (hey, the first rule is write what you know) puts him in the middle of the mystery, this time murder and stolen diamonds. There is also a personal connection to the crime and ongoing angst with his girlfriend, Cat, who resents his dedication to the job and the mystery, which leads him to put their relationship second. All ends well, of course, but not before we are treated to more of Taylor’s good writing and sense of place. He has also kept his gift for dialogue, in my book the hardest part of fiction writing. Taylor not only has an eye for our locale, he has an ear for peoples’ every day speech.
Taylor never loses his writing skill, but there is a feeling that he is moving through the story word by word, rather than having a flow that carries you along from page to page. The book has very short chapters, which should help, but they end up creating a choppy feel, not a fast pace. They also create a lot of white space which makes what would be a thin volume somewhat fatter.
Thin or fat, Encounter by Deadline is an entertaining tale of crime and detection set well in tropical Fort Lauderdale. If you enjoyed Murder by Deadline you will enjoy Encounter. If you haven’t read it, by all means do so, although it isn’t necessary to read it first. We can look forward to more of Matt Bowen’s adventures in Fort Lauderdale.
Mel Taylor, known here in Fort Lauderdale as a long-time TV reporter, has published Encounter by Deadline, a follow-up to Murder by Deadline, another Matt Bowen mystery. As in the first book, Matt’s work as a television reporter (hey, the first rule is write what you know) puts him in the middle of the mystery, this time murder and stolen diamonds. There is also a personal connection to the crime and ongoing angst with his girlfriend, Cat, who resents his dedication to the job and the mystery, which leads him to put their relationship second. All ends well, of course, but not before we are treated to more of Taylor’s good writing and sense of place. He has also kept his gift for dialogue, in my book the hardest part of fiction writing. Taylor not only has an eye for our locale, he has an ear for peoples’ every day speech.
Taylor never loses his writing skill, but there is a feeling that he is moving through the story word by word, rather than having a flow that carries you along from page to page. The book has very short chapters, which should help, but they end up creating a choppy feel, not a fast pace. They also create a lot of white space which makes what would be a thin volume somewhat fatter.
Thin or fat, Encounter by Deadline is an entertaining tale of crime and detection set well in tropical Fort Lauderdale. If you enjoyed Murder by Deadline you will enjoy Encounter. If you haven’t read it, by all means do so, although it isn’t necessary to read it first. We can look forward to more of Matt Bowen’s adventures in Fort Lauderdale.
posted by Jack Latona at 12:55 PM
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home