It's been a long time since I've written a book review on my blog.
I finished reading
By Reason of Insanity by Randy Singer a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it! The book I had read previous to this one had a rather extensive sex scene described to where I needed to flip through several screens to skip over it. It was annoying and distasteful. Perhaps some people enjoy these gratuitous scenes, but I do not!
Anyway, I was expecting one to appear in this book as well. I kept my eyes out for it and was very pleasantly surprised to get to the end without having to endure through one of these scenes.
The language in this book was also kept very clean--even during the climax of the book when tempers were flaring and plots were thickening. Still, the characters did not lose their cool and begin using language that is offensive to my ears (yes, even while reading). I don't recall any bad language. If there was any, I didn't notice.
Some reading this review may feel that the book may have been boring. Let me assure you, it was not! The premise of the book is about a string of kidnappings and murders. Catherine O'Rouke is a reporter who claims to have had visions containing information that only the police or the person committing the crimes would have access to. This lands her as the number one suspect. She has no recollection of committing these crimes, and because of the visions, her sanity is brought into question. The book follows her experiences in jail and the proceedings of her trial.
Because of the horrible nature of the alleged crimes, there are some graphically violent scene descriptions. I felt that Singer did a very good job with these scenes. Some of the images described are horrid and tough to read, but they, I felt, did not go overboard. It did not seem at all gratuitous to me.
Needless to say, I really felt that the choice of scenes combined with the clean language made this a very enjoyable book, but that is not all. That is what would make me recommend this book to friends at church. That's a bonus but probably not enough to make me give this book 5 Stars. I also thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and turns. It was a great ride trying to figure out all the different facets of the book. I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be. Singer had a great way of planting doubt and keeping the reader guessing. The plot and character development definitely made this book! If you're looking for a legal thriller, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this title.
This is the first book I've ever read by Randy Singer, and I am eagerly awaiting another opportunity to read one of his books.
