Blog Tour - Second Cousin Once Removed

Title: Second Cousin Once Removed (Goodreads)
Publisher: Brown Books
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Author: Kenneth L. Toppell
Age Group: Adult
Source: Pdf provided by TheWriteReads

I would like to say a big thank you to Dave from TheWriteReads for providing me with the Pdf from the publishers. This was my first ever blog tour so I was excited to give it a go and so glad I did. I hope you enjoy my review! And thank you to everyone who supports my book blog 🥰

Review

This is a great read if you love a quick short story murder mystery filled with intrigue. I always believe there is a book for everyone and this would definitely be one to read if you like quick exciting crime fictions. However, this book just wasn’t for me unfortunately. I hardly ever dnf a book but in this instance I had to, even though it's short I just couldn’t force myself to finish it. Reading is never pleasurable if your forcing yourself to finish. Also, I just didn’t feel intrigued by the mystery of the murderous and mysterious cousin. For me, this was because it was overshadowed by the relationship between Henry and Carolyn.

Second Cousin is written in multiple perspectives which is great if you want to get a glimpse into each characters thoughts and feelings. It’s not that any of these perspectives were poorly written I just didn’t like the characters, for me they lacked depth and likability. I personally just prefer books with characters with complex depths. What also stood out for me that didn’t add favour to me personally as a reader was that Carolyn was only really there for sexual validation of the main narrator Henry. Very early on what starts out with a great premise, a mysterious murderous cousin, that actually had me interested in the story was quickly forgotten and overshadowed by the sexual will they won’t they interaction between Henry and Carolyn. This was a shame because like I said the initial premise of  the story was actually really exciting.

Even though this book wasn’t for me like I said at the beginning of my review there will always be someone who does. So, no matter what you should always give a book its own chance. If you chose to ignore books because someone else didn’t like it you might miss out on one you yourself will love and treasure.

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Henry Attkinson's life as an attorney is slow, predictable, and lonely, given his divorce and his ex-wife's custody of the kids. He recently took up geneology as a hobby to fill the time, but it doesn't do much to spice up his mundane routine. Until the day he prods at a dead end of one of the branches of his family tree. Who is this cousin Shelley, whom he's never met or even heard of in years? Ignoring a warning to leave well enough alone, Henry still doesn't find much in his deeper delve into the mystery--just a concerning criminal record for the man that finally convinces him to drop the matter. But Shelley is a man who doesn't want to be found or even looked for. And now he knows someone has been looking. Faster than he knows what's hit him, Henry is propelled into sudden mayhem, receiving ominous threats, meeting mysterious strangers, and running for his life. Second Cousin Once Removed is a fast-paced, sweaty-palm thriller that will keep you hooked until the last page.

Key Quotes

'Shelley Garçon kills people. I want you to know this about him because he’s still out there.'

“Henry. It’s me, Shelley. You’ve been looking for me. Why?” That’s all he said. Ten words that scared the hell out of me. He had found me. It couldn’t be through Facebook. Damn! What can of worms had I opened?’

'If I had to disappear, I needed to do it with cash.'