Absinthe of Malice reviewed by Vivian Zabel

Title: Absinthe of Malice
Author: Pat Browning
Publisher: Krill Press 
Genre: mystery 
Copyright: 2001, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9821443-1-2

       I opened Absinthe of Malice to read while I waited, something to fill otherwise wasted time. What I discovered was a plot and characters that grabbed me and pulled me into the story. I couldn't sleep until the book was finished.

       Pat Browning’s craft, to weave a believable and realistic mystery, with crime, hatred, love, and hope all mixed together, would interest most readers. I’m picky about what I read, and I often find myself editing rather than enjoying. However, this book gave me very few opportunities to reach for my mental red pencil. Penny MacKennzie, a reluctant detective and heroine, decided to find the truth about her friend’s death. Even if she did stumble into a couple of messy situations that would stop my heart, she survived with everything but pride in tact.

       The secrets of a small town, and the power struggles often found, created the backdrop for a grave with bones on the edge of a cotton field, the deaths of two women, and the shifting of money and land. What effect did the history of three men have on the present and future of their descendants? The answer is twisted among the romance and love stories of two generations.

       Absinthe of Malice is fast paced, racing the reader from one scene to another, between the normal activities of life to the creepy darkness of late night explorations, from a touching scene between older lovers to the meeting and rekindling of an old love. After all, a good mystery needs a touch of romance, and that of this book isn’t graphic, but just tantalizing enough to be “just right” for the imagination of the reader to add details.

      I enjoyed the book and recommend it, even though a couple of spots aren’t as smooth as the rest. The few, very few, glitches aren’t noticeable through a first reading.

Copies can be ordered through any bookstore, online at http://amazon.com or http://bn.com , or as a Kindle e-book at http://kindlebooks.com .