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Traces of Guilt An Evie Blackwell Cold Case Dee Henderson 9780764218873 Books

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Traces of Guilt An Evie Blackwell Cold Case Dee Henderson 9780764218873 Books

I really hate writing negative reviews, but I found myself very disappointed in this book. I realize that different people will have different opinions, and I see there are a lot of excellent reviews. I’m happy for the readers that liked the book, because it’s wonderful to read a something you thoroughly enjoy. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for me with Traces of Guilt. I'll explain my reasons.

I read the O’Malley series, and LOVED the books. The second series, Uncommon Heroes, I enjoyed, but somehow were a little less satisfying. I continued reading her books, hoping for the Dee Henderson of the O’Malley series to reappear. Unfortunately, in the book Full Disclosure-- bear with me, this does relate-- we were introduced to a character that was unlikeable. That character was Ann, and regardless of how often we were told of her specialness (which was extolled ad nauseum), I was never able to get there. Though all of Ann’s friends constantly expressed how amazing and wonderful she was, it was impossible to find that in the character of Ann. To me she was self-indulgent and self-centered. Somehow she also knows everyone’s secrets and seems to delight in cryptically warning others about them. I am mentioning Ann because, unfortunately, she shows up in this book. Worse, much of what I thoroughly disliked about Ann was replicated in Evie. Evie is another woman who we are told is so exceptional, but is hard to find common ground with or be invested in. The local sheriff, Gabriel, became interested in her, but was way too understanding of her self-centeredness and unwillingness to reciprocate. Even her current beau Rob, whom she is so blasé about I pitied him, was described as incredibly enamoured of her. Somehow we are to believe that he has plans to wear Evie down and arrange their life together so thoroughly that she can’t say no to his proposal. Romantic, right?

Sheriff Gabriel also has calculated plans to encourage Evie’s acceptance of his interest. I’m not sure what either man sees in her, because she is not a compelling, warm or lovable character. The way she works on the cases really is very interesting and does keep the plot moving along nicely, however. But Gabriel's interest in Evie is difficult to accept. Their relationship seems so cerebral and dispassionate.

There is also an obvious attempt at making Evie Ann’s Mini Me; in fact, Ann wants Evie to step into her government position and even gave her flying lessons so she could be a more exact replica of herself. That certainly doesn't help Evie's lack of appeal.

The plot-line regarding the cold cases that they are trying to solve are very intriguing and definitely kept my interest, which was the saving grace of this book. These cases are what required the introduction of Evie, so there was a chance to write a really compelling character. Unfortunately the opportunity was completely missed.

One of the cases included a character named Grace. She was not featured as much as some of the other, less interesting characters. However, I ended up really caring for Grace. She is a sweet and strong woman who underwent horrific abuse, but she ends up being the person I cared for in the book the most. I hope she shows up again. Another interesting character is Karen, and I hope her story gets told at some point as well.

I wish I liked these last books of Dee’s more. I see there’s a new Evie Blackwell book due to be released in March 2017, but I’m not sure if my hope that Dee can recapture some of the delightfulness of the O’Malley series will get me to purchase the next book. Since her characters have gotten less and less compelling as time has gone on, I can’t see this series recapturing everything that was wonderful about the O’Malleys. Unless the next book covers more of Grace’s story, I likely won’t bother buying it. I don’t understand what may have happened to have changed Dee’s characters from being well fleshed-out and people you genuinely are invested in to people that are so two-dimensional that you just don’t care.


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Traces of Guilt An Evie Blackwell Cold Case Dee Henderson 9780764218873 Books Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed Traces of Guilt. I was immediately drawn into the story with Gabriel and Evie and the two cold cases the writer put on the table. As we were introduced to the Thane family by Ann Falcon (one of my favorite Dee Henderson characters) I found myself wanting to know more about them and spend time with them.

I feel like this book was Dee's way of introducing us to a new vein of characters, places, and situations that will play out in additional books. It reminded me a lot of Full Disclosure (Ann and Paul Falcon's story) but she is taking her time with Evie and Gabriel. They both have intricate stories that are converging and it will be complicated to work through. I think it would have felt rushed and we would have missed some of the details if their story if it was completely wrapped up in Traces of Guilt.

I think the open ending may be why some readers felt a little disappointed with Traces of Guilt. The focus of the novel isn't the attraction between Evie and Gabriel. Instead it felt like the writer was setting the stage for their story (and other characters like Karen & Grace) to come. If that's the intent, then I'm willing to wait and see it played out in future books. It will be worth the wait.
I didn't get very far into the book before I put it down. The storyline is already confusing with too many characters and threads being spun out, making it too difficult to get a sense of where this might be headed. It hasn't hooked me quickly enough for me to care about anyone or be curious about anything. I have no sense of who the central players are going to be, because there are so many of them and they seem to be equally weighted at this point (about 15% of the way in).

Also, few reviewers have mentioned the heavy use of 'religious' reference that pervades the dialogue and character motivation. I have nothing against a story that is "clean" or relationships, including love stories, that stay chaste. And I have nothing against characters who are very spiritual or religious. However, when proselytizing or bible-based life advice crops up every two or three pages and from the lips of multiple characters, I find myself jolted out of the story and dropped into a Sunday school lecture. For me it really stopped the flow.

This author isn't for me. Her writing was too choppy and the story she was trying to tell was too broken up. I'm sorry that I spent money on two books before I actually read one - now I'd like my money back. (I'm giving this a 2-star "I don't like it" rather than a 1-star "I hate it" because it's not dreadful or terrible, but I really just don't like it.)
I usually love Dee Henderson but I have found all of the books featuring Ann and Paul to be over the top unbelievable. Ann is too good and perfect and everyone loves her. She is the best at everything she does. Honestly, I find it very boring and uncharacteristically unreal even for fiction. These books have been wordy as well with Ann giving much needed advice that everyone is so grateful for. (Eyes rolled) sad to say because I am a FAN! I have read every book she has written and love the suspense and characters until now.
I really hate writing negative reviews, but I found myself very disappointed in this book. I realize that different people will have different opinions, and I see there are a lot of excellent reviews. I’m happy for the readers that liked the book, because it’s wonderful to read a something you thoroughly enjoy. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for me with Traces of Guilt. I'll explain my reasons.

I read the O’Malley series, and LOVED the books. The second series, Uncommon Heroes, I enjoyed, but somehow were a little less satisfying. I continued reading her books, hoping for the Dee Henderson of the O’Malley series to reappear. Unfortunately, in the book Full Disclosure-- bear with me, this does relate-- we were introduced to a character that was unlikeable. That character was Ann, and regardless of how often we were told of her specialness (which was extolled ad nauseum), I was never able to get there. Though all of Ann’s friends constantly expressed how amazing and wonderful she was, it was impossible to find that in the character of Ann. To me she was self-indulgent and self-centered. Somehow she also knows everyone’s secrets and seems to delight in cryptically warning others about them. I am mentioning Ann because, unfortunately, she shows up in this book. Worse, much of what I thoroughly disliked about Ann was replicated in Evie. Evie is another woman who we are told is so exceptional, but is hard to find common ground with or be invested in. The local sheriff, Gabriel, became interested in her, but was way too understanding of her self-centeredness and unwillingness to reciprocate. Even her current beau Rob, whom she is so blasé about I pitied him, was described as incredibly enamoured of her. Somehow we are to believe that he has plans to wear Evie down and arrange their life together so thoroughly that she can’t say no to his proposal. Romantic, right?

Sheriff Gabriel also has calculated plans to encourage Evie’s acceptance of his interest. I’m not sure what either man sees in her, because she is not a compelling, warm or lovable character. The way she works on the cases really is very interesting and does keep the plot moving along nicely, however. But Gabriel's interest in Evie is difficult to accept. Their relationship seems so cerebral and dispassionate.

There is also an obvious attempt at making Evie Ann’s Mini Me; in fact, Ann wants Evie to step into her government position and even gave her flying lessons so she could be a more exact replica of herself. That certainly doesn't help Evie's lack of appeal.

The plot-line regarding the cold cases that they are trying to solve are very intriguing and definitely kept my interest, which was the saving grace of this book. These cases are what required the introduction of Evie, so there was a chance to write a really compelling character. Unfortunately the opportunity was completely missed.

One of the cases included a character named Grace. She was not featured as much as some of the other, less interesting characters. However, I ended up really caring for Grace. She is a sweet and strong woman who underwent horrific abuse, but she ends up being the person I cared for in the book the most. I hope she shows up again. Another interesting character is Karen, and I hope her story gets told at some point as well.

I wish I liked these last books of Dee’s more. I see there’s a new Evie Blackwell book due to be released in March 2017, but I’m not sure if my hope that Dee can recapture some of the delightfulness of the O’Malley series will get me to purchase the next book. Since her characters have gotten less and less compelling as time has gone on, I can’t see this series recapturing everything that was wonderful about the O’Malleys. Unless the next book covers more of Grace’s story, I likely won’t bother buying it. I don’t understand what may have happened to have changed Dee’s characters from being well fleshed-out and people you genuinely are invested in to people that are so two-dimensional that you just don’t care.