REVIEW for Best Intentions

Thank you goes out to author Emily Listfield for asking me to read and review her new novel.

TITLE: Best Intentions

AUTHOR: Emily Listfield

GENRE: Novel

RATING: 3 Stars

When author Emily Listfield emailed me ans asked if I would read her novel, I was intrigued - this story sounded very interesting and I like anything that has a "twist" to it.

Having said that, I have mixed emotions about this novel. The basic premise is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. We find two of our main characters Lisa and Sam - they have been married for ever and although there does not appear to be any clear, obvious problems, Lisa is feeling that vague feeling of "something is not quite right". She shares her problems with her best friend Deidre who has some issues of her own - among them - she has ditched an affair to start up a relationship with her former boyfriend Jack. One night, they all get together for a birthday celebration and secrets are uncovered - that will send Lisa into a sprial of disbelief and grief. Are her husband and best friend having an affair???? As Lisa wonders whether she has been betrayed, Deidre is found dead! and nothing is ever the same.

As I mentioned, I liked the main concept - betrayal and uncertainty - no clear answers and nobody is being honest or open. The author does a wonderful job of describing, for us, Lisa's state of mind as events develop in front of her - her disbelief and her fear, as well as her feelings of utter betrayal. Who can she trust? everything and everyone she knew seems to be just one big lie. I felt for all of the characters in this book. I think this is the author's biggest strength, she manages to make her characters extremely real and poignant.

What did not work for me was the writing style. This novel, on first glance, especially if you look at the cover is difficult to categorize. While it may appear to be a mystery/thriller type of whodunnit, its not really. This novel is more of a contemporary novel with a murder thrown into the mix. Which is the problem that I had with it. I am probably not the target audience for this book. I like my mystery/thrillers to be ALL about the murder and the whoddunit. Yes, I like character development and all that, to me, its about the storyline of finding the killer and the reason behind the murder. With Best Intentions, the novel is focused almost entirely on the characters and the storyline of betrayal - its as though the murder is almost an afterthought - a reason to propel the storyline forward and get us to discover more about these characters.

As I said, I believe I was not the target audience for this book. I believe that in the hands of another reviewer, one that enjoys contemporary fiction, this book is probably rated as a 4 star. I can feel that this is a good book, but it just wasn't really my type of book.