Season of Darkness

Season of Darkness - Maureen Jennings Thanks again to Goodreads First Reads giveaways :)This being the first uncorrected proof I've ever read I was at first highly distracted by typos (the curse of a teacher) but had to remind myself to move past them (they got fewer as I went along which also helped). Overall I enjoyed the story but found the use of "time specific" vocabulary and references a bit too much. I can see where someone like Tom Tyler and other characters might speak that way but would have appreciated a glossary of some sort to explain some of the terms (Google filled in my lacking vocabulary here for the most part though). Even having read Great Expectations years ago I got a bit confused with how the characters in this book were comparing themselves to "Miss Havisham's Estelle" and "Pip with the thick boots". The ones I did recognize (the more common ones I suppose) were all crammed into the first 50 pages or so...One major difference I noticed reading this book compared to many of the other mystery books I've read is that is is highly personal. Instead of the detective being hired to solve a case involving complete strangers for merely a paycheck, some accolades, or to help make life easier for someone else, the detectives immediate family is closely involved in one way or another. This makes the detectives work and home lives intertwine which I like to see as then you see a more rounded view of the detectives personality and character. I also enjoyed seeing that the detective was in some ways flawed and wasn't afraid to admit when they were stumped rather than seeming to be perfect and having all the answers miraculously appear to them with little effort.Although in some cases the book was a bit more lude and graphic than I'd prefer in my choice of reading material it did have several lines that had me laughing out loud. I look forward to the next installment in this trilogy to see where Maureen Jennings takes Tom Tyler next as I haven't a clue. So much seems to have been included in this first book that I wonder what is left. I certainly hope no more hardships come to the Tyler family as each was severely affected in this book alone. I felt sorry most for Vera (Tom's wife) who's feelings seemed to be pushed aside on many occasions.