Gone Fishing~J. W. Metcalf | Review

Title: Gone Fishing (Tony Gavel #1)
Author: J W Metcalf
Genre: Mystery
Length: 179 Pages (Kindle)
Publication: December 2014
My Rating: 3/5 Stars

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review

This novel has a lot of potential and I really enjoyed reading it. Tony is the type of character who seems to find trouble no matter where he goes, so it's no surprise when his relaxing stay in his woodland cabin turns into a manhunt for a missing serial killer. And then Tony's friend Josh ends up dead, creating an even more dangerous situation. 

The mystery in this novel was really interesting. The concept was what had me interested in the first place. Mystery novels are just fascinating and the setting and premise of this one sounded great. 

I really enjoyed reading this novel and it kept me interested as I read. It's always nice to try and figure out the mystery along with the main characters. It was fun to work alongside Tony and try to discover what was happening and why all of these seemingly unconnected events and people were suddenly connected. 

The setting was great. We spend the majority of the novel in a small mountain town where everyone knows everyone. Despite its small size, the town is very diverse. It seems like a quiet town that people moved to in order to get away from the hustle of life and ended up bringing the hustle along with them. I don't want to discuss too many of the details of the novel in case I spoil the mystery. 

There are really only two reasons that this novel did not get a higher rating from me. The first is the characters. I think that all of the characters had much more potential. The reader is thrust into the main mystery almost from page one, which is good in some ways. It would make reading more compelling to have a bit more of an introduction to Tony and his past (even though some of that would have come in the previous novel) before jumping directly into a new mystery for him to solve. It left me feeling like I wasn't really connected. 

All of the characters throughout the novel were interesting, I just wish there were more development to them. I had a hard time connecting with the story lines. Just a little more background and some of Tony's history with these individuals (since he already know so many of them) would be great. 

The writing was the only other thing that fell flat for me. The novel could use some more polishing to make it more easily read. The writing itself was alright, it just needed some touch ups. A few commas here and there, some apostrophes, that sort of thing. 

Overall, I think the novel was a fun read and the ending was great. The mystery worked itself out nicely and it was able to keep me thinking the entire time. I was always chasing the characters, trying to figure out their motives and intentions. This novel is great for mystery fans who want a quick read. With some polishing this would easily be a four star book for me. With those edits and some more background into the characters it could be a five. This is a really fun and entertaining read.