Embellished to Death
by Christina Freeburn
Summary:
When Faith Hunter agrees to help PI Bob Roget find an identity thief at a local scrapbook retreat, her friendly croppers’ weekend quickly morphs into a dangerous one. As croppers share their own memories, a killer collects them for her new identity, and doesn’t appreciate Faith in the picture. Faith struggles to balance her professional, detecting and personal lives as threats and secrets keep her off-balance. Things turn deadly when a woman is killed and Faith is blackmailed. Truth and lies collide when Faith discovers croppers aren’t the only ones embellishing, and the results might end her life.
My Review:
Four years ago, my house burnt down. We lost almost everything except for my pictures and a couple of scrapbooks that I had been working on. I am always thankful that, of everything we lost, my children’s baby pictures weren’t one of the casualties. So, of course, Christina Freeburn’s scrapbooking series really hits a soft spot in my heart. The loving references to cutters, ribbon, pens, glitter, plastic bins, beloved pictures, etc. are a wonderful reminder to me of my truly good fortune after the fire, and of course, the countless hours my sister and I spend chatting and scrapping. Freeburn’s characters are just like the women–both family and friends–that I scrap with, some closely-bonded, others bickering, but all women and friends at heart.
Besides the fun theme of this cosy mystery series, however, is the attraction of Freeburn’s mad writing skills. Embellished To Death is so fast-paced that the reader will have to stop and catch her breath occasionally. Protagonist Faith is hiding a deep, dark secret, her boyfriend Steve has a tumultuous relationship with his father, their friend and P.I. Bob and his life partner Garrison are dealing with homophobe issues, there is an identity thief crashing the cropping convention, one of the convention hostesses is trying to curb her alcohol problems, a brutish P.I. keeps roughing Faith up, and bodies are dropping everywhere. And the red herrings are too numerous to count. Almost anyone could be the identity thief and/or murderer. This truly is a five star book!!!
The Villain’s Voice
By Christina Freeburn
Usually when readers, and even writers, think of the villain’s voice being in the story it means the villain has a point-of-view in the book. We see the world through their eyes, hear their thoughts, and in a way become a witness to the horror and evil doings they commit. The villain has a vocal role in the book like the heroine and hero. The antagonist’s journey is on the page right along with the protagonist.
Another way for the villain’s voice to come through is in the background of the story. This method is used for first person point-of-view stories when only the heroine or hero’s voice is used for relating the events in the book. In the current book I’m working on, I found bringing out the villain’s true self in the background was more important because the motivation drove the story even more than the actions of the murderer. I also ran into a snag when I started dealing with three villains in the book, rather than one. At times I became confused because I didn’t know which bad guy was the true evil in the book.
I realized the problem resided in the fact I didn’t know enough about each antagonist. I knew the motive, the character name, the job, likes and dislikes, all surfaces items that kind of read like a boring personal ad. I needed more. These characters needed more for their real selves to come through. They were villains readers would love to hate.
But, there was more to these people than what I knew when I originally wrote them into life. When I delved deeper into their emotional state, explored the hopes and dreams they had for their life, why they were driven to make certain choices, my outlook on the story shifted. The story became stronger and deeper when the antagonists turned into flawed, selfish, insecure individuals instead of an evil villain born seemingly without a conscience. It’s not easy for a writer when a villain turns out not to be as bad as you envisioned them. It makes you feel for them, empathize in their struggle, and feel a tad bit guilty when you have to bring them to justice. When I regret what has to happen to the villain, I know I did my job well.
Author Bio:
The Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery series brings together Christina Freeburn’s love of mysteries, scrapbooking, and West Virginia. When not writing or reading, she can be found in her scrapbook room or at a crop. Alas, none of the real-life crops have had a sexy male prosecutor or a handsome police officer attending.
Christina served in the JAG Corps of the US Army and also worked as a paralegal, librarian, and church secretary. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, children, a dog, and a rarely seen cat except by those who are afraid or allergic to felines.
Author Links:
Webpage: www.christinafreeburn.com
Blog: www.theselfrescueprincess.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christina-Freeburn-Author/245592138834150
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristinaFreeb1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ChristinaFreeburn
Tour-Wide Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Participants
September 23 – Mommasez… – Review, Guest Post
September 24 – Books Are Life – Vita Libri – Review
September 25 – Mystery Playground – Guest Post
September 26 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review
September 27 – Community Bookstop – Review
September 28 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review, Guest Post
September 29 – Brooke Blogs – Review
September 30 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading – Review, Guest Post
October 1 – Back Porchervations – Review, Interview
October 2 – a chick who reads – Review
October 3 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Interview
Cognac Conspiracies
Mommasez..... 