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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Dead Man’s Watch Did It. It Made Me Believe the Lie.

by Chautona Havig · 8 Comments

Dead Man's Watch didn't just make me doubt myself when I decided "Whodunnit," it tricked me into fingering the wrong suspect. BRAVO! via @chautonahavig

Strange.  This week I read two books that had watches as a key element of the plot. Of course, the books took place a hundred fifty years apart, and the first book’s main character would have been astonished at the concept of a digital watch without moving cogs and such. Still, I found the use of “wrist chronometers,” as the woman in the movie Guys and Dolls calls them, fun!

Even more fun was this romantic suspense novel.

Dead Man’s Watch has everything I love in a good mystery/suspense. This book has both. In fact, this book has one thing that few mysteries do.

Dead Man's Watch Review

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you

Dead Man’s Watch Did It. It Made Me Believe the Lie.

I’ve said it often, and I’ll probably say it again.  I usually figure out the “whodunnit” in books pretty easily.  All I need to make me consider a mystery a success is for me to doubt myself, make the “why” be something I didn’t see coming, or something like that.

So, when a book actually gets me to latch onto the wrong person as the culprit, well… It’s a TOTAL win.

And yeah. One red herring was so perfectly imperfect that I bought it as the real deal and was convinced that the true killer was the red herring. Oh, and the author, Kay DiBibanca did it without writing an overly complicated plot.  She wrote a strong, multi-layered and faceted story, but she didn’t complicate things for their own sakes.

This book has a lot going for it.

Kathryn and CeCe have a fun and unique relationship that feels natural and makes you want to spend time with them.  Phil and Ben are interesting people, and even Blake (the primary suspect) makes you care about him and his plight. I mean, there was a minute there when I decided that if he did murder the guy, well… I understood.  Didn’t make it right, but I was glad I wouldn’t have to haul him in for it.

Add to that the unusual inclusion of a Messianic congregation, someone who actually enjoys running and considers it “fun” (and I believed her!), and just enough red herrings to keep me guessing and you have a solid book you do NOT want to put down.

Are there problems?

Sure. Let’s face it. Almost every book has some to someone! My biggest objection in this one kind of surprises me. Phil is a bit overbearing in his “demands” on Kathryn, but that didn’t bother me. People do that.  Fear for another person can make any of us become downright smothering about things.

What bothered me most was how someone as independent as Kathryn accepted the intrusion (at this point in their relationship, I considered it an intrusion).  Odd thing is, I’m not usually a big feminist or anything, but it just raised a few hackles I didn’t even know I had.

Additionally, Blake’s father-in-law and his “He couldn’t give my little girl all the stuff she deserved so she became a druggie” and “she could have married a lawyer or a doctor” were both weak and cliched. I’m sorry, but “lawyer or doctor” feels ripped out of the forties or fifties and just fell flat. Someone becoming a drug addict because her husband couldn’t give her a lavish lifestyle–that doesn’t hold water, either.

Did these problems kill my enjoyment of the story?

Nope. Not at all, actually. DiBianca made the characters in Dead Man’s Watch so realistic to me that I just got annoyed with them instead of their author.  Well played, Ms. DiBianca.  Well played.

Recommended for lovers of romantic suspense and for folks who like to see different pockets of the church explored in fiction. Thank you to the author/publisher for providing a review copy. I’ve not allowed that to influence my review.

Dead Man's Watch ReviewAbout the Book

Book:  Dead Man’s Watch

Author: Kay DiBianca

Genre: Cozy mystery

Release date: September 2020

Half-sisters Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman stumble into another mystery in this second book in the Watch series. When a former acquaintance of Kathryn’s is accused of murder, she and Cece go on a mission to prove his innocence by finding the real killer. But things are never what they seem in this tangled web, and Kathryn’s spunky determination to solve the mystery pushes her closer and closer to a deadly climax.

Join the adventure as these two young women commit themselves to live up to the quote from the Jerusalem Talmud: “Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.

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Comments

  1. Paula Shreckhise says

    April 2, 2021 at 9:01 am

    Wow, after your review, I really want to read this!

    Reply
  2. Roxanne C. says

    March 31, 2021 at 5:10 am

    Super review! I’ll be suspicious of all the characters now. LOL

    Reply
  3. Debbie P says

    March 28, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    This sounds very intriguing and I am looking forward to reading it!

    Reply
  4. megan allen says

    March 27, 2021 at 5:47 am

    This is my kind of read! Thanks for sharing your awesome review!

    Reply
  5. Amelia says

    March 26, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Emma says

    March 26, 2021 at 1:07 pm

    I chuckled at your comment about running and liking it! I actually took a walk this morning–to bring up the cows for milking, which my boys usually do, but I decided to go along this morning. Must do that more often!

    Reply
  7. Kay DiBianca says

    March 26, 2021 at 8:53 am

    Chautona, Thank you for reviewing Dead Man’s Watch. I’m delighted that you didn’t guess the villain!

    Your review is riveting and your feedback is very valuable. I appreciate your comment about Brad’s father-in-law, and you’ve made me think more about the complicated relationship between Kathryn and Phil. You’ve made me see the need to explore their individual personalities deeper in future books. The advantage of writing a series!

    Thanks again. Blessings and shalom to you.

    Reply
  8. Andrea Stoeckel says

    March 26, 2021 at 6:32 am

    You had me at Romantic Suspense

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
byChautona Havig

Before I began the interview with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel’s Song, I kind of went crazy and left it in to give you a chuckle. But Naomi and I chat about her upcoming release, why she chose to write about Ezekiel, and what areas she focused on. Listen in and hear her heart for the Word and for stimulating readers to love it and live it.

Oh, and that song I couldn’t remember? Well, I found it after a BUNCH of hunting on YouTube. Here you go!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?

There’s SO much to write about in Ezekiel, but after talking to Naomi Craig, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp of where she’s taking this book without feeling like I don’t need to read it now that we chatted, and that’s always great. Naomi shows service in the temple, how Ezekiel could have had a mentorish relationship under Jeremiah, and even what kind of woman his wife might have been.

Personally, I love the “Darcy-ish” meeting where he totally insults her and accuses her of being an idolatress. Let me tell you something. I cannot wait to read that! Seriously!

God had Ezekiel do a lot of weird things, and I always wondered how he managed some of it, but Naomi brings out possibilities by focusing on this wife that we don’t know much (anything) about. How cool is that?

Naomi also gave us a couple of glimpses into what’s coming next!

She’s #TeamBlue in the Keeping Christmas novella collections, writing about Herod’s palace and the wise men’s appearance looking for “the King of the Jews.”  And… from a scribe’s perspective!  How cool is that?

Also… next up is a book about a woman in Ephriam’s lineage who built three cities. A woman credited with the building of these cities!  I cannot wait! I love how Naomi focuses on how strong Biblical women were. So often we think of them as downtrodden and little more than cattle, but God shows how much He loves His daughters in the Word, and He definitely allows them to shine. We saw that in Naomi’s debut novel Rahab’s Courage.

Ezekiel’s Song by Naomi Craig

A prophet’s heart broken, a woman’s joy gone. What does Yahweh have planned for His people?

On the brink of Jerusalem’s demise, devoted priest, Ezekiel, sees the insincerity of Judah’s worship. Despite his efforts to call the people back to true worship of Yahweh, priests, artisans, valiant warriors, and royals are exiled to Babylon. When God gives him messages of continued judgment for the people in his homeland, his heart breaks. How can he minister to the people from so far away?

The presence of the Lord is tangible when Shiriel sings in the temple, and her voice prepares the hearts of many to worship. When she is exiled to Babylon, her faith is shaken. Does the Lord’s presence extend beyond Jerusalem and His holy temple?

Ezekiel is struck mute and paralyzed as he begins his prophetic ministry, and Shiriel devises a plan to get the Lord’s message back to the unfaithful people of Judah. Shiriel struggles with discontentment as serving the Lord looks nothing like she’d imagined. Can she provide for her family and carry out her husband’s ministry when her joy is gone, and her own dreams are placed on hold?

How will Yahweh save His people from themselves? Find out in Ezekiel’s Song!

Ezekiel’s Song is available at 30% off paperback and at a discount for Kindle, too through release week, so visit Naomi’s WEBSITE for more information.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
August 12, 2022
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Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
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Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road t Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road trip isn’t always fun, but it was a bonding experience for Liz and her son, Matt.

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Fascinating moon tonight. Fascinating moon tonight.
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Harper Brevig has two skills—picking out snarky bookish t-shirts and alienating customers. 
Oh, and racking up bills out of thin air. Make that three skills. She loves the elderly and the very 
young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
Milton Coleridge and his parrotlet Atticus (not Finch) come to the rescue… but is it too late to 
save this bookstore?
Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings Series releases on November 2, 
2022. Link to more information is in my bio! 
#amwriting
#amreading
#bookishbooks
#bookstrings
#comingsoon
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