Monday, March 4, 2013

In the Market for Murder / D.M. Fichera


Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Mystery/Woman Sleuth

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

D.M. Fichera previously worked in marketing and public relations before becoming a freelance writer. She lives near Philadelphia.

Description:

“Bad things do come in threes, even for an attractive ad agency executive living in the most desirable neighborhood in Philadelphia. Just ask Dylan Scarborough: first her father died; then her fiancé died; then her ex-boss died. Only the last one became an issue because the police don’t consider murder a natural cause.

After being implicated by a close friend, Dylan is set up by a career-hungry police chief for a crime she didn’t commit. Running out of people to trust, she turns to her nineteen-year-old intern and an investigative reporter friend to help clear her name.”

Appraisal:

A review in four words: Good story. Awful copyediting.

I loved the main character, Dylan, which is good since this book appears to be the first in a series featuring her. The secondary characters were also fun, with their own quirks and unique personalities. Dylan’s best friend Jack and intern assistant Lily, along with her busybody Mother, all added a lot to the story and I’m guessing will make appearances in subsequent books. The plot was a good one and kept me guessing along with Dylan as to who the guilty party was. I was surprised when I found out, but felt like there were enough clues that, in retrospect, it made perfect sense.

The only thing missing was adequate copyediting and proofing, with many problems in this area.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

A large number of typos and other copyediting issues. Often these were typos with a letter missing from the word, usually the first or last. Also homophone errors (to/too, course/coarse, your/you’re are a few examples) along with various other problems.

Rating: *** Three stars

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi ! In The Market For Murder IS available via Smashwords and iTunes. Thank you!

D.M. Fichera said...

Hey Al,

Thanks for the review. I was thrilled to read you were surprised by the ending and that you loved my main character. The copy you read was before I pulled it off smashwords and corrected the typos. It was a learning curve on how to upload and format as an indie author. To be honest, I rushed getting my novel out so I could gift it to my Dad for his 65th birthday as I knew it would be his last. At any rate, thanks for your thoughtful response. I appreciate you reading my work. I assure you my second installment of the series will be much cleaner!