Customer Reviews

The Woman Who Rode to the Moon (A Cordelia Morgan Mystery)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this thriller a tad bit confusing. Going back and forth between a diary of sorts and present action. The ending was fulfilling--the journey as twisting as the mountains the novel takes place in.

A community of diabolical characters shows Sym, a recently ruined poetess, just how sacred real estate can be. Murders, magic, and mayhem abound. I enjoyed the careful play between Sym and Eva Swank as they attempt to solve the murders on their own.

I would have appreciated more on the sexual side and less on the bizarre. But an entertaining read.

Authoress Bett Reece Johnson delivers a beguilling sequel to "The Woman Who Knew Too Much". Once again we are treated to fiesty sleuth, Cordelia Morgan, as she becomes involved in a sinister plot including actual skeletons, an ancient, sacred site guarded by a mythical cougar and the haunting of frenzied spirits.

In "The Woman Who Rode To The Moon", Cordelia teams up with poetess, J. S. Symkin, who is fondly known as "Sym". The setting of the Sangre de Cristo mountains exquisitely enhances this exploration of El Gato and all its evils. Sym has retreated to this mystical place, leaving a ruined career behind. She is there to find peace.

Sym's lovingly restored house becomes like the even edged outer pieces of a jig-saw puzzle, somehow part of her new neighbors suddenly dying, we begin mentally connecting the oddly shaped segments--slowly and carefully meshing each detail to solve this razor paced matrix.

Standout character, Eva Blake, a wildly swank woman who sways Sym into investigating these deaths on their own, is as diabolical as they come. Add a triangular romantic attraction between Sym, Eva, and the local sheriff, and this alluring suspense of a tale becomes deeper than the dark canyons of Colorado.

I reveled in this book. Elaborately woven characters, a magical plot, sub-plots, scintillating scenery descriptions, and more importantly, a non-biased approach to sexual preferences makes "Woman Who Rode to the Moon" truly beam.

other reading suggestions: "Booked For Murder" by Val McDermid, "The Front Runner" by Patricia Nell Warren, and "The Woman Who Knew Too Much" by Bett Reece Johnson

Thanks for your interest & comments--CDS

The reviewers below who complained about not enough sex so irritated me that I had to write as counterpoint. This is an exquisitely crafted work and to the reviewer who doesn't find some of it 'believable' - you need to get out more or at least read the papers and science magazines. What 's missing is merely ellipsis that allows the reader to imagine and create as they read along with Ms Johnson's wonderful creation of character and plot, setting and the unsettling.

I bought this book because of the plot and the review of it here. And I was not disappointed. It is magical and well written. If you like mysteries and murder and bisexuality you have to read this book. Think I'll get her other one The Woman Who Knew Too Much.

I hope Ms. Johnson reads this review and takes my comments to heart. I truly loved the plot; it's an exciting story and well-developed. But, the characters don't behave like real people. The attraction between Symkin and the sheriff is barely touched on, never talked about nor does it amount to anything. The sparks between Symkin and Eva (Morgan) were what I most waited for, and NOTHING HAPPENED!!! What? In real life, they definitely would have gotten it on, and more than once. There wouldn't be that kind of magic with nothing happening. Please, Ms. Johnson, get some sex into your books! I'll continue being a loyal reader, but it's frustrating not having anything develop with such a sexy star as Cordelia Morgan running around.