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Book Jacket

Valley of the Lost
by Vicki Delany

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: 02/10/2009.
Mysteries, 300 pp.

Number of reader reviews: 17
Readers' Consensus: 3.5
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First Impressions: Page 3 of 3
Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Susan (Fairfield CT)

Disappointing
Valley of the Lost was a tough book to finish. I found it to be slow-moving with characters that I really didn't care about. I felt Molly was too immature to be taken seriously as a constable, and Lucky wanted to buck the system whenever possible as a salute to her past as a flower child. By the time the pace of the story picked up, in the last quarter of the book, I was no longer interested in the outcome.

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Karla (Dana Point CA)

Valley of the Lost is Right
This was a mildly interesting tale. It might have kept me riveted if Vicki Delaney had not written so much gimmicky detail into the book. Double names for so many people was very confusing. Referencing flower-children parents seemed out of character for the responsible people they became. It was off-putting to read they were "draft-dodgers".

If this book is part of a series, I don't feel compelled to get the other book(s). The plot twists were interesting but Ms. Delaney took so long to get on with the story that I lost interest.

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Christine (Salt Lake City UT)

Lost in the Valley of the Lost
Valley of the Lost by Vicky Delany has all the elements of a good mystery, a beautiful setting, quirky characters and a murder; however, it was more like being lost in the "valley of the lost" than reading about it. Delany introduced over 20 characters in the first 30 pages and unlike other writers in her genre; she did not give enough background for the reader to pick up the story line or provide a desire to return to the first novel for more more details. I wish Delany had spent more time fleshing out the main characters of Molly Smith or Sgt. Winters than racking up some peculiar body count where the author with the most characters in a novel wins. There were just too many holes in the plot to make it an entertaining read.

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