One Bear's Opinion -- Book Review

Window’s Tears by Susan Wittig Albert

This is the twenty-first book in the China Bayles mystery series. But really, there wasn’t much of a mystery. In fact, the mystery aspect of the book was far down as far as plot elements in this book. If I hadn’t been expecting a mystery, I may have missed it completely. And normally that would make it a book worth skipping in the series as far as I’m concerned.  This, however, was a very good book.

It was a hard book for my reading companion to read. But in the end, it was worth the time. The main story of this book centered around the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. It seemed to be well-researched though it was a fictionalized account of the event. Real people and real events featured in the book, though the main characters were entirely fictional.

The main action of the story centered around a house haunted by the ghost of a survivor of the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. I did not particularly care for that supernatural/ghost aspect. I think that was a ploy to capture a market that exists right now rather than true character development.  I did find the historical flashbacks were definitely worth the read.

I would have preferred this story been told as a stand alone book, rather than having a combination ghost story/murder mystery clumsily woven into it. By weaving together the stories, in what I can only assume was an attempt to please too many audiences all at once, no one part of the story was given the attention it deserved. And the historical tale was well worth telling, even as a (well-researched) fictional account.

My reading companion is fairly sure she is suffering from the after effects of having lived through Hurricane Katrina, so it was difficult for her to read, and it may have been good for her that she was partially distracted while reading this book. But as hard as it was for her to read, it was definitely a book that will stay with us. I doubt we’ll read more about the Great Galveston Hurricane, just because of our own experience in Katrina, but the story of the Great Galveston Hurricane is definitely worth being told.

As a China Bayles mystery, Widow’s Tears is a failure. The murder mystery is far down in importance. The main series characters are largely absent from this episode, and nothing happens in the book that will not be recapped, if necessary, in future episodes. As far as the overall story arc goes, this is not important at all. In terms of the series, this feels like a contract negotiation vanity project. If you are reading the book for the characters and the mystery, you will be disappointed. But as a book worth reading, it succeeds spectacularly. The description of the hurricane is terrifying and incredibly realistic. And it brings questions about the failure of the weather forecasting, warning, and emergency systems long before Hurricane Katrina. It really shows the power of nature and humanity's fight against that nature.

One Bear’s Opinion:  Four cups of strong coffee spiked with a good bit of Irish Cream and a plate of rum balls

Happy Reading Everyone,
Oliver