Customer Reviews

The Grief Shop

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4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Grief Shop" is Vicki Stiefel at her best! The thriller has all the psychological drama of her first 2 novels, yet shows great compassion and sensativity in her heroine, Tally Whyte.

Tally is constantly challenged in her attempts to find a child killer and in her personal life. You find yourself worrying about the fate of missing children, her step-mom and her devoted dog Penny. All are in jeopardy!

As Tally weaves her way through a maze of clues, one thing becomes certain. This crime is not going to be easy to solve. The plot twists and turns, while danger lurks around every corner.

A great read! I'm looking forward to number 4!

Tally Whyte runs the Massachusetts Grief Assistance Organization (MGAP) and although it is in the building that houses the medical examiners office it is a separate entity. The Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Veda Barrow is Tally's foster mother who she loves dearly. She is also in love with Sheriff Hank Cunning who lives in Maine and wants her to take a job up there as chief medical examiner.

Tally's life begins to radically change when she finds a lump on her three-legged dog and takes her to the vet who wants to do a biopsy. Then she is called to the medical examiner's office because the body of a child was in there with the phrase "sins of the father" on her hand. When they track down the victim's parents, they discover that a second child that was staying with them was also kidnapped. She is returned to her parents but a third child is found dead with the same words written on her hand that were inscribed on Rose's. Veda is hospitalized with an infection and then someone injected her with medicines that destroyed her brain. To make matters worse, the expected new chief medical examiner wants MGAP out of the building. Tally tries to carry on and identify the killer while finding she has feelings for another man. When Veda is kidnapped, Tally goes on point to find the killer before he strikes again.

There is so much action in THE GRIEF SHOP that readers will want to finish it in one sitting to find out what happens and how the various sub-plots are linked together. Most people would break under the strain Tally is under but the protagonist seems to gather strength out of adversity. Vicki Stiefel is a talented storyteller who writes enjoyable consuming psychological thrillers.

Harriet Klausner

THE GRIEF SHOP is an overstuffed novel with so many different subplots and characters that I had some real problems following the narrative.

Vicki Stiefel is a decent writer, but I think she needs to streamline her plots better. The story in THE GRIEF SHOP seemed to jump from one plot line to another, without much transition. I was more confused than entertained by this novel.

My primary suggestion would be for Stiefel to write a tighter plot with a smaller number of characters that are better developed than what I found here.

I was very frustrated with with the many unanswered questions-and not the ones expected to be answered in her next book. It has foreshadowing that goes nowhere. A couple of characters unexpectedly save the day without any explanation of how they knew who, where or why. Not to mention that people die left and right- the ending is very depressing and unsatisfying for the main character's personal and professional life and her attempts at solving the case.
As a paperback novel fan, I do not recommend this book. There are much, much more satisfying books out there.

Tally has a lot to deal with in this mystery/thriller, but she is up to the task. No matter what troubles she faces -- from her dog's medical problems to her foster mother's crisis -- Tally's warmth, wit and understanding of people keep us at her side, rooting for her the whole way.