The Next Ex
Review: On a chilly winter afternoon, start a fire in the fireplace, open a bottle of wine, curl up in an easy chair, and be prepared to thoroughly enjoy Linda L. Richards' second Madeline Carter mystery, The Next Ex.
The plot here is generally along the lines of a typical Nancy Drew mystery, right down to the Nancy (read Madeline)-in-peril chapter towards the end. Since the characterizations and dialog are so well written, this doesn't detract from the overall satisfaction of the book, especially for readers who enjoyed Nancy Drew as children (or even now as adults!). But it does make the storyline somewhat predictable. If there's a weak aspect to the book, it is Madeline's relationship with Gus which seems a bit superfluous and distracting to the story; maybe the author was trying to add depth or conflict to Madeline's persona by unnecessarily adding a love interest.
Madeline Carter is a very appealing and interesting character and The Next Ex a delightful mystery. It will be interesting to see where Linda L. Richards takes Madeline on her next adventure.
Acknowledgment: Book Trends provided an ARC of The Next Ex for this review.
Review Copyright © 2005 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author … Calculated Loss Mira Books (Mass Market Paperback), September 2006 ISBN-13: 9780778323457; ISBN-10: 0778323455
Location(s) referenced in The Next Ex: Hollywood, California
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The Next Ex by Linda L. Richards — A Madeline Carter Mystery
Publisher: Mira Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2240-5
Publication Date: November 2005
List Price: $6.99

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Page Author: Lance Wright Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews
Mysterious Reviews is a Division of The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and a Business Unit of the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites
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