Title: Return to Cherokee
Author: Harvey Mendez
Published : June 19th 2009 by SynergEbooks
ISBN13: 9780744318302
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 365
Why I read the book: Free book from Goodreads, but sometimes free books are not worth the trouble.
Where I got this book: I won it from Goodreads giveways.
Synopsis: Five years after Al Madison is killed in THE CHEROKEE MURDERS, Ludwig Kruger, great-great grandson of Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria, buys his pharmacy in Cherokee, Arkansas.
Sinister Ludwig wreaks havoc with the town's women and conceals Rolf Wolf, a cursed man. Sheriff James Duke is baffled when a beast roams the countryside seeking victims and The Mole, an evil drifter, terrorizes the town. Past characters return and relationships with new characters erupt after Rolf sneaks his long-time lover Countess Viktoriya into town. Triangles run rampant as Sheriff Duke zeroes in on the killers until Ludwig, Rolf and Viktoriya finally clash.
Review: I'm not sure where to start. If I could I would give this book a 1\2 star.
I feel that I am well read and I would know a well written book vs. a poorly written book.
I will start with giving Harvey Mendez credit for writing a book and giving it away to be read, reviewed and criticized by complete strangers.
The Pros:
I need to find Cherokee AK because everyone is beautiful in that town. The 50 year old woman working at the post office is tan with a slim figure. (DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.)
The Cons:
There are way too many characters and they are all one dimensional. The only woman that we know her age is Besty Malone and she is described "early fifties, tan, slim, and very good looking." Every woman in this town is very good looking and I can't figure out why all the woman are single if they are all good looking.
The author put the persons thoughts in italic "He felt her warm and intriguing against him. Should I say something? How she feels to him-how she moves? He wasn't sure- he'd better cool it for now, anyway." I am not sure why he feels the need to make certain thoughts italic and others not. He’s not a very consistent writer.
I feel one of the most important parts of a book is to be able to identify with a character. Than when something happens to that person or someone they care about it bring out an emotion in the reader. I could not seem to identify with one character or truly feel any emotion. A woman is raped and yet her friend has no sense of compassion.
"Steevee put an arm around her shoulder. I'm sure he'll understand."
"He will. It’s just that he's the only man I've ever been with." she trembled.
"Oh - that won't matter." He never once evoked an emotion for what happened to the woman. I only felt like I was reading words on a piece of paper.
To describe one of the characters as possessing a "giant scrotum" and that he's "mole like" is as bland as can be.
Rolf Wolf, one of many characters, at one point meets a woman Alice (Hair stylist) for the first time and for some reason (like all the woman in this book) she is attractive and has large breasts and so naturally he rubs the back of his head into her breasts after she just met him and finished his hair cut. No matter how cute a guy is, he rubs his head into my breasts he will get a slap to the head. By this point I'm at Chapter 20 and there have been three sex scenes that sound like an 8th grader writing what he thinks sex would be like.
I personally feel this book is extremely poorly written and reminds me of an 8th grader writing in a way he think adults would talk and act. For example, "He watched the women speed up and quickened his pace also." Why add the word also? It does not enhance the story and it stops the flow of the sentence. There are also several miss spelled words unless good has always been spelled with a (t) goot.
This book is 75 chapters and 356 page with two pages at the very end of the book that are blank and by chapter 21 on page 107 I was completely bored with the book and wanted it to stop reading.
As I said before I feel this book is poorly written and I advise all future writers to read this book as a "What Not To Do When Writing."
Author Biography: A pharmacist licensed in three states, Harvey Mendez moved from Arkansas in 1999 from southern California with his wife, Ann.
RETURN TO CHEROKEE, a squeal to THE CHEROKEE MURDERS is his sixth published novel. He has co-authored a screen-play and has six short stories, two essays and one poem published.
His novel AMELIA, is a best seller and placed fourth in a National contest and was finalist in the EPPIE 2003 contest. THE BEAR AND THE BULL won first place as a short story in 1986. His other novels are RED EARTH and JAKE HARWOOD.
He Belongs to the Lagunita Writers Group in Laguna Beach, California and the Cherokee Village Writers Guild in Arkansas.
Other Review:
This review by guest blogger Heidi, thank you Heidi.
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