The Smoking Gun of Hunter's Moon

Hunter’s Moon

by Don Hoesel

First, there was “crossover” music – where Christian musicians dumbed down their Christian message in order to appeal to a wider, mass audience. Some were successful, but as Christians, I don’t think we’re supposed to “dumb down” the message.

This felt like a “crossover” book to me. There were few references to God in this book, and the ones that were seemed contrived.

In my online writing “class”, I learned that in fiction or any other kind of writing, you should “show” – not “tell.”

This book is 95% - tell! The narration to set the stage goes on it seems, forever. And even after the stage is set – there’s still too much explanation. That’s not what the readers of today want in a book. If Hoesel had written this book 20-30 years ago, it would have probably fit in better.

If I hadn’t committed to reading through the book, I might have quit less than halfway through. As it is, I read fast, and was able to plow through in a day.

The smoking gun, as the cover suggests, – in this case is a 25-year old “murder,” two brothers, and a dominating, powerful family with national political aspirations in a small town in upstate New York.

The smoking gun figures later in the story as the title suggests. Family secrets abound in this book, and maybe men would like it better than I did. As a blog book reviewer for Bethany House, one of the perks is free books. I thought I’d give this book a try, because their blurb sounded “exciting.” Well, I guess it was. It’s labeled “suspense” and there is that, but I didn’t like it.