My problems with this book in one sentence:
The MC has very little control over her libido, she is quite stupid, and the plot is very obviously being steered by one small convenience after another.

To be fair, the MC is a pretty believable character. She has a lot of believable flaws but she doesn't really have any redeeming qualities or anything inherently interesting about her. The only positive thing I can say about her is that she loves her kids very much. Which sadly can't be taken for granted I guess.
This might be a me-thing but when I read paranormal or urban fantasy I don't want to follow a normal person being normal. Slice of life is not interesting to me if there isn't anything special or some twist to it.
The writing is fine, but the pacing is very slow, and very little progress towards any kind of resolution is being made for most of the book.
The plot isn't nearly as subtle about the mystery as it seems to believe. With a plot resolution that is truly hard to guess, suspense can keep the tension up even with slow pacing. But that wasn't the case for me. It is not entirely clear who is involved in what or how deep until the end but the one big red herring is very obvious and the clues pointing to the true culprit are hard to overlook too.

I thought about dropping it a few times not because I was annoyed by something but because nothing interesting was going on for a long time. In the end, I prevailed partly due to ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘s review telling of better books later into the series even though she is generally rather critical.

There are a few time jumps that are unnecessarily hard to follow because we are just told the date after the jump so if you don't painstakingly follow the current date at all times, it's not clear sometimes how big the time-jump was. (It is usually just the next day.) ( )

really good ( )

i enjoyed this book so much that even though i originally had 0 intentions of it, i plan to purchase the rest of the series now. it was a very entertaining read that kept me guessing for parts of it. i felt the vagueness with Doc was a little too drawn out. at times it really frustrated me that he didn't just come out with it!! but in the end it was worth it and the cliffhanger had me hooked for more. ( )

the story was kinda slow and some things really irked me: the sexual harrassment by her coworker, all the guys were trying to date her, how she treated her bff's feelings, she was kinda a wimp,she talked about how she was worried about her kids but really did nothing about it, ( )

A Laugh Out Loud Thrill
First let me say, the cover for this book an the entire series is freaking amazing. The cover was the reason I took a chance on this new-to-me author. The use of color, as well as objects that are in the storyline was truly excellence in design and marketing.

Now, on to the story. Ms. Charles’ ability to bring Deadwood South Dakota alive in the mind of readers was spot on. Her use of characters, humor, history and mystery was masterful. Think Stephanie Plum goes middle America.

In Nearly Departed, Ann Charles’ protagonist, Violet Parker is a single mom of twins starting over in a smallish town where she spent loads of time as a child. Her “do-over” is impeded by her ability to sell houses and a child abductor.

With a cast of characters to bring spice, irritation, humor and thrills to the story, Violet sets out to protect her daughter who is the exact image of one of the missing girls in Deadwood.

Violet spends the book trying to find a house for her client Doc, while trying to get 2 other client’s – Wolfgang Hessler and Old Man Harvey – houses ready to sell or sold. Sparks fly with Doc, while skin crawls at the thought of Violet’s secret admirer. Quickly in the story, Violet draws secondary characters within her circle adding the perfect mix of laughs and snappy dialogue.

This is a great start to a multi-book series that I plan on reading more of.

Recommend
If you like Janet Evanovich’s writing style, and character development, you will find that Violet Parker and the Deadwood series worth the time to read.

This review appeared on my website.

Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was asked to review this book from the author's publicist, but I received the digital book via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County Library system. It was read as a Kindle Book.

I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
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