Return to Tahoe / Barbara Strasburg

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Approximate word count: 120-125,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

This appears to be Barbara Strasburg’s first novel.

Description:

The “Five-Os” are more than a softball team. A team initially formed by former-major-league-hopeful Vic Wagner to play a once a year softball tournament in Lake Tahoe, over their nine years of existence they’ve become much more, with softball taking a backseat to their friendships and camaraderie. But in the tenth year, Vic’s actions and a subsequent tragedy tests those friendships.

Appraisal:

There was a lot to like about this story. It dealt with themes and emotions with which most of us can relate: love and loss. Friendship (not only what it means, but the responsibilities it brings). The consequences of decisions, past and present.

It was a story I enjoyed reading; however, numerous editing issues marred it. These were not only clear errors (discussed in more detail in the format/typos section), but a need for a bit more polishing of the prose and a little too much fat. With a good editor to help cut where the story drags and tighten up the prose, followed by a thorough copy edit, it would be a winner. As it stands, all but those with the most forgiving internal editors will have a hard time wading through to the end.

FYI:

Some adult language and situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

There were an extremely large number of grammar errors, typos, and other proofing miscues. A full list would be too long, but I’ll give some examples. Food is arraigned (no idea what it was arrested for), couples walk hand and hand (rather than the correct hand in hand), and the homonyms pass, past, and passed are used incorrectly a vast majority of the time. Words that should be compound words (dugout, intact, within), are broken in two. There are occasional errors in verb tense and singular/plural mistakes.

Rating: ** Two stars