As Directed - A Review

As Directed

by

Kathleen Valenti

Pharmacy Tech (nee Pharmacy Researcher) Maggie O’Malley was developing a bad habit of discovering unhealthy people on the pharmacy floor - some, dead; some, nearly so. This was not a part of her job description. And with four (or was it five) really good suspects, the police (who were only looking at one suspect) and Maggie would have a long week ahead of them.

But murder was not the only crime at play - the lives of children, of pharmacy staff and customers, and of community citizens were also on the line. Maggie had some help from her fiancé, Constantine. Two local detectives, Austin Reynolds and Gladys Wren, would occasionally listen to Maggie’s banter; but, sadly, would not always act on it - upping the level of danger.

I was feeling disappointed through the first half of the book. Much of the character development and some of the story depended on knowing the back story found in the two previous books of the series. This reader felt at a lose. The second half of the book developed a life of its own - knowing the back story may have helped, but was needed for the reader to enjoy and to be drawn into the larger story. It may have helped for the author to provide brief summaries of the earlier books, without destroying the story lines of previous books - this could have been done as brief advertisements inviting the reader to read the previous stories. Alas, only a list of all three books was included as an appendix.

For those looking for a nice (not great) Spring read, As Directed might fill that prescription - it may be just what the doctored ordered.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.