Valley of the Lost
This book started out pretty good. It takes place in British Columbia, where a young girl is found dead of a drug overdose, with an infant lying by her side. There are some interesting characters, including Molly (given name: Moonlight), a young, probationary constable with a tragic death in her past, and her mom, Lucky, who takes in the baby. The story moves along well enough, but the last quarter of the book, when the villains and the plot begin to unfold, it gets mired down in grade B dialog and plotting. It's a shame that the novel dropped to that level, since it had potential. This book is apparently the 2nd in the Constable Molly Smith series, but I don't plan to go back to read the first.
Rated of 5
by Michele (Port Orchard WA)
Your Average Mystery Valley of the Lost is evidently the second in a mystery series by Vicki Delany. While the story itself has a fairly tight plot and very sharp dialogue, without reading the first in the series, I was fairly lost with the numerous characters and references to the previous book. It seems likely that most of the character development took place in the first novel. Delany's writes quite well, but it felt rather like picking up a book and starting your read at chapter ten.
Rated of 5
by Marion (Litchfield NH)
Valley of the Lost Valley of the Lost takes place in picturesque Trafalgar near Vancouver, Canada. Lucky Smith finds a small baby crying behind the Women’s Support Center where she is a counselor. Lucky discovers the body of a young female. Is she the baby’s mother? Could this be a drug overdose? The next morning a counselor from Child Services demands Lucky turn the baby over to them. They will find a licensed foster home until the baby’s family can be located. Lucky forcefully says no; she will be his foster mother.
Constable Molly Smith, Lucky’s daughter, is a new recruit with the local police department. The detective enlists Molly’s help to solve this case. Molly is popular with the young women in town and thinks she can get more information from them than he can. Molly runs into a stone wall. No one in town has any information other than her name is Ashley (no last name) and the baby’s name is Miller. Many twists and turns drive the mystery to a surprise ending.
Valley of the Lost is a delightful mystery and I look forward to more adventures featuring Constable Molly Smith. The first in the series is In the Shadow of the Glacier.
Rated of 5
by Rosemary (San Antonio TX)
Valley of the Lost
An avid mystery reader, I was disappointed in this book. I felt that too many characters were introduced, but not adequately developed. For instance, the two detectives from the USA who didn't appear until the end of the story. The book seemed to be made up of several short stories that the author tried to tie together into one book. Also, I was somewhat offended by the author's obvious push to legalize "pot". I do not feel that a work of fiction should be used as a vehicle to promote one's political views. The story started out with great potential but for me, became bogged down in too many side stories. The ending was rather anticlimactic.
Rated of 5
by La Deana (Norman OK)
Valley of the Lost Valley of the Lost has an unusual cast of characters, from an aging hippie mother to a young female officer who still lives at home , victim that no one know anything about and an infant left at the scene. That being said the characters never seemed quite fleshed out to me. I usually become attached to the characters while reading a book but that never happened with this book. The plot had some good twists but didn't flow. I would read this book if it was the only one I brought on a plane otherwise I would look for something else to read.
Rated of 5
by Jan (Saratoga, CA) (Saratoga CA)
Valley of the Lost
Funky characters, beautiful setting and interesting plot turns made this an OK mystery. I liked the flowery and very descriptive writing in the beginning, but it got to be a little too much by the end. I read the first two thirds of the book easily, but it took much longer to read the last third.
Although this was a second book in a series, and I have not read the first book, I did not feel that I was missing too much information that it hindered my enjoyment of this book.
Satisfying, but not spectacular. Would most likely appeal to those who already love mysteries.
Rated of 5
by Kathryn - Oceanside CA (Oceanside CA)
Disappointing Valley of the Lost, the second mystery in the Constable Molly Smith series, is a disappointing read. Set in beautiful British Columbia, very little of the unique culture or character of the place is found. The plot is interesting, with a couple of good twists, but the uneven writing gets in the way. Reading like a first draft, the story is cluttered with details that add little to character development or plot and detracts from the story. At times, supporting characters seemed more like the hero/heroine than Molly Smith. With all the fantastic books in the mystery genre, this one is mediocre.
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