Book Review: One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon

Title: One Deadly Sin

Author(s): Annie Solomon

Genre: Fiction - Thriller

Finished: April 26, 2009

Edie Swan has returned to her home town of Redbud for revenge. Armed with a list of names and a bag of tiny black angel figurines, a mimic of the black angel that stands over the grave her of her father, she is ready to make the men she feels are responsible for the death of her father pay for their crime. Her father, Charles Swanford, was reported as having committed suicide after being caught extorting money, but Edie feels it was really murder and the charge was made up to protect the still living men involved. Coinciding with her arrival is a streak of murders-- the murders of the very men she has on her list and has been leaving black angels for. She finds herself the prime suspect in the murders after her small roll in their lives is revealed. This cuts short her budding romance with chief of police Holt Drennen, who must arrest her despite his growing doubt of her guilt. Not only faced with a life in prison for murders she did not commit, someone is out to scare or kill her.

I always worry when I read books like this because I fear your typical "kick ass female" character. And by fear I mean that they just annoy me-- they are unrealistic, loud mouthed, and suspiciously Mary Sue. When Edie waltzes in with her tight clothes, her messy dark hair, her dark black eyeliner, her aptitude for working behind a bar and making ANY drink, and her suped-up Harley, I worried for this book. But, joy of joys, I found Edie to be a great character full of flaws and limitations, but still strong and independent. She isn't perfect-- gorgeous yes, but prone to her own personal issues and troubles, and certainly not infallible in any sense. And no, she would not be able to punch out a biker four times her size as some characters like her can. Comparing her to some of the awful female characters I've read, she is a great female lead character. From when the murders started to when the culprit was revealed, I thought I knew who was committing the crimes. In fact, I was almost absolutely certain that I had the ending of the book pegged. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found out that I was not only wrong, but completely unsuspecting of who it truly is. When a book can catch me by surprise and prove me wrong, I automatically reward it with extra credit.

This book is definitely not for someone younger than 18. There is violence, death, and a few steamy love scenes. It's not gratuitous, though, so you might not be offended if you have an aversion to something listed above. Given the title of the book, the plot, and the main character, it is to be expected that some uninhibited sexy things are going to happen. If erotica isn't your thing, no worries. The scenes are few and not very lengthy. They are just enough but not too much. The only thing that bothered me while reading wass the occasional choppy passage here and there. There are times in the book that new sentences are started that are awkward and unfinished. I guess that's what Word likes to call Sentence Fragment when you grammar check? I don't know. I am a major culprit of them myself, at least according to Word. It isn't awful by any means, and it certainly isn't indicative of a poor writing style. Indeed, Solomon is a wonderful writer-- her book is an engaging page turner. Just now and then I sort of had to pause and connect things because there was a period there that didn't feel right. So what is One Deadly Sin? It is thrilling, unsuspecting, and well written. The characters are realistic and well rounded, full of personality and individuality. The pace of the book is great because it never lags or staggers, it never lingers or drags on too long. The book has enough edge to keep it exciting, but not enough to over-do it.