Finding Miss Write

Finding Miss Write

by Gena Webb

Carla Williams (aka Kay Wyont) is working on a new novel when she decides she might want to kill one of her main characters. When her conversation is overheard, a concern citizen tries to report her to the police, resulting in Carla being brought in for questioning. When the concerned citizen refuses to let the matter go, Carla becomes headline news and a serial killer's next target. With her safety an issue, Carla grows closer to the detective trying to protect her.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. A novel about a romance writer who also writes cozy mysteries and always wins at Scrabble? I had to read this just to make sure it wasn't a biography about me. However, I found it very difficult to finish. While I enjoyed the story, several characters had very similar names (Roger & Randy, for example) to easily confuse me. The fact that they were also characters in Kay's novel didn't help, although I happened to enjoy that particular twist.

I also had a hard time getting into the story. The first chapters, while setting up a lot of background, did not really draw me into the story. While some of the dialogue felt authentic, some of it felt a little stiff and formal. As a result, I had a difficult time relating to the characters. I couldn't figure out whether they were middle aged or senior citizens. I kept envisioning Carla old enough to be a grandmother and it wasn't until the final chapters that I realized she was middle-aged.

While the story did garner my interest in the middle, I found myself drawn more to the romance than the mystery. I was also disappointed in the ending. As a result of the similar names, I had to reread the whodunit part several times, and I'm still not sure I figured it out, even though it is explained more than once. And, despite her friend's attempts to guess the whodunit in Kay's novel, the answer is never actually given to us.

(Note: After posting this review on Goodreads, I was informed that the whodunit in Kay's novel is not given because we can read Kay's novel, One Inner Voice, and find out for ourselves. I'd call that a nice hook!) 

Overall, I would rate this story four quills and might read the sequel.