Not very thrilling...

The Widow File

By S. G. Redling

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Dani is a data analyst for a security company investigating possible leaks in a corporation. She and one other analyst becomes the survivors of an attack that killed all the other analysts and stole their files. Dani is left to figure out why they are after her, what information they seek and why they want to kill her while eluding the a clever hit man named Booker.

That is the bare bones of a ordinary and overdone plot. You would think there are only so many thriller plots that an author can do and the trick is for the writer to find new ways to present them.

Well,that doesn't happen here. Redling's brief but excruciatingly overlong novel not only brings out all the old gimmicks but does them badly. It's hard to know who this was written for. It a suspenseful idea but the dialog tends to be over cute and somewhat YA in nature. It really cuts out the action. Dani and her cutesy named friend called Choo Choo are too unbelievable as the smart and resourceful characters they are meant to be. The villain Booker fares no better. Add in an large amount of filler in a relatively short novel and the result is with is a novel that just couldn't interest me, let alone thrill me. I did manage to finish it but it took a lot longer than it should have since I kept getting distracted by everyday life. When everyday life pulls me away from a novel, you know there's something wrong.

I received this from Amazon Prime's new First Read program in which the members get a free book before the publishing date. The Widow File was the mystery selection for December. Let's hope Amazon choose better books in the future. Barely two stars.