George C. King (1) (–2021)

This mystery is sexy, hilarious and a wonderful read! It's often hard to find a light-hearted comedy with a splash of sexiness and mystery, but this find is a keeper! When I picked up the book, I found it a little slow to start, but once I was a few chapters in and I learned about our conflicting characters I was instantly hooked!

The reader follows Kathy King as she investigates the neighbors of her parents (with the help of a homeless man who loves movies named George) and learns that some characters might not be all they appear to be. Despite this novel being a sequel, it was very easy to follow (and made me want to read the first book now! I must get my hands on it somehow! I am determined to! If this novel was great, the first novel must be excellent for it to deserve a sequel!).

This novel did a great job keeping the story moving along and not getting to slow or boring. I expected at some points for the plot to slow, but it kept moving at a steady pace, which was a massive plus for this novel! I also found that George C King was great at describing images and the past events within in the story (which was very helpful as a reader).

If anything, there could have been move conflict within the story between the opposing parties (without spoiling anything). I would have liked more conflict before the climax or the end of the novel. Not having more conflict didn't ruin the novel, but it would have made it a lot more exciting.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! I'd love to read the first novel and the next ones! Anyone who enjoys a good mystery that isn't gory or horror related should pick up this book! It's an excellent read in my eyes!

Five out of five stars!

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

P.S. I also loved that it was signed (and my name was actually spelled right) and had a little note! That makes this novel so much better!… (meer)

[Sighs] Comedy is hard. A lot of it is in the timing. Writing and performing a stand-up routine takes cojones; writing about a stand-up routine is just about pointless. George Carlin got away with hosing religion because he established himself over years as an irreverent funnyman. I'd laugh at about anything he said. His Football vs. Baseball routine seems to be on every time I fly Delta and it's funny every time I hear it (and I see other passengers furtively putting on headphones and dialing around trying to find out what I'm carrying on about).
I'm an atheist. I love Bart Ehrman, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher Hitchens. Okay, Hitchens appalls me but I respect the intellect. I won't say this book is terrible. It has a lot going for it. It's touching and funny in places. It's got suspense and a punchline. I just didn't find the stand-up funny. And I have friends who throw "Life of Brian" parties and carry crosses around the neighborhood ... on Easter Weekend ... in the Bible Belt. It's not something I'd do myself ... because I don't think torture is funny.
I don't read a lot of science fiction, but even for me the magical alien with the supernormal (for earth) mental powers and fancy gadgetry is a squeezed out trope. Even one of my favorite parts, Jason enduring his first ride in an automobile, reminds me of the yellow-light-means-go-real-fast wheeze in "Starman." Jason was funnier when he was more vulnerable; he was a better character when he was more complex. As an all-powerful alien who could vaporize all life on a given planet, he was just plain scary, and all the tangoing-with-a-lightweight-cross in the world doesn't relieve that. In fact, it just points up the horror of it.
And is there such a thing as brainwashing for a good reason?… (meer)