What do readers think of Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany? Write your own review.

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.

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.

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.

Even though I did not read the first book in this "traditional mystery series", I was never at a loss as to who or what was going on. This is a fast paced mystery, not at all predictable with a complex story line. There is a cast of very likable characters from the townsfolk to the police. There are, however,several facts disclosed in the first book which were not explained in this book which makes one curious in order for the story line to be more complete (thus, I will now go back and read book one). This did not hinder the story line one bit. This book will be enjoyed by mystery lovers and those who are not - it is a great read. I am very much looking forward to her third book as I am very anxious to learn the future of several characters.

This is the first book I've read by Vicki Delany. I did enjoy the story line and it's many twists and characters. The plot kept me reading and it was a good ending.
This book will appeal to mystery buffs.

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.

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.

One realizes quickly that the drug problem is not endemic to the US and British Columbia has problems with marijuana being used frequently as well as hard drugs. Sgt. Winters calls on Constable Molly Smith to assist on interviewing local residents since he's new to the area. He's comfortable working with the RCMP - a view contrary to feelings of police in other books. The different names of the characters was confusing. (Molly is Moonlight Legolas and her mother refers to her as Moonlight.) Thought the ongoing references to the parents as "flowerchildren" was off-putting and not integral to the plot. Molly is likable, however, not enough to want to read future books. Would not suggest it for our mystery book discussion group.