Miller’s View: The Deadly Babes

When Pamela Palmer, a young wife and mother, is killed in a drunk driving accident. Her husband, Sam, and their twins, Brandi and Dennis are devastated. If that weren’t hard enough, their dog, Patches, nearly dies from Babesiosis.  As the family learns more details about Pamela’s accident, it looks as though the driver of the other car could walk away Scot-free. Meanwhile, Detective Jonathan Miller and his wife are about to become parents.  However, Jonathan’s attention is divided by the drunk driving case, especially when certain disturbing information comes to light. Although Jonathan’s suspicions begin to solidify, his special ‘rose tinted’ glasses may be the only way to crack the case. 

The author has quite the imagination and the ability to build a story. However, this book feels more like an outline for a story than a fully fleshed out novel and is too spare, even for a novella or short story. Although the author provides a brief synopsis of the previous books in the series, that does not make up for the lack of basic information about the series’ core foundation or the recurring characters. One or two, brief ‘catch -up’, paragraphs in each installment, even if it seems repetitive, is standard operating procedure for a reason. The story is certainly an original one, which is always a plus, however, the amount of belief the reader is required to suspend is almost insurmountable. The characters need more depth and room to grow, and the story desperately needs more bulk.  With a little restructuring, this book, and the series, has real potential.

Julie Whiteley