Book Review: Out of the Ruins by Sally S Wright
Out of the Ruins by Sally S. Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Own on Kindle.
Wow. I’m, once again, wishing I were reading the next Ben Reese Mystery instead of writing a review.
Ben has returned to the States after a sabbatical in Scotland (where he’s solved two murders). He’s headed to the south to see about a gift of paintings the widower of an Alderton graduate wants to make. He has some other work to accomplish, but his mom asks him to visit his aunt while he’s in the Carolinas.
His aunt lives on one of the last privately owned barrier islands and runs a small, family-run inn. The owners of the island desire to keep it privately owned and caretaken rather than developed as other communities or seized by the Federal Government for a park.
This is another murder that could be passed off as a natural death. This time, however, the deceased has MS, and the author works around questions of euthanasia with one of the suspects.
This book delves into questions of personal responsibility whether from the perspective of eminent domain, euthanasia, charitable gifts, self blame, even relationships between people.
My biggest difficulties with Wright’s work include confusion at the beginning. I’m never really sure what’s going on, who’s who, and how the story is going to advance. The other, is that I knew which character I thought was the murderer, but the cast of suspects is so large that I find it difficult to remember who’s who. Wright’s characters are well written, though. And Ben Reese’s systematic way of dealing with suspects is well constructed, not to mention the well-rounded character he’s presented as.
On to book #5!