Review: Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard, Bk 2) by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 2)

Shakespeare’s Champion by Charlaine Harris

Series: Lily Bard, Book 2

Genre: Mystery

ISBN: 9780425213100

206 pages

My Rating: 2 Stars

Synopsis:

Between her job as a cleaning woman and her visits to the gym, where she’s a devotee of karate and bodybuilding, Lily enjoys pursuits that may seem a bit odd for a petite Southern woman. But Lily knows exactly how to keep focused and balanced at work and play. When a fellow gym member is found dead after a workout, Lily is afraid the death may be linked to a sinister pattern that is creeping through Shakespeare, a small Arkansas town.

My Thoughts:

The second book in the Lily Bard series explores racial tensions in the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas. Although the premise is good and it delves into some heavy issues like white supremacy, a bombing of a black church, and torture, the story was very disjointed and clumsy. I found myself completely lost as the author kept jumping from one scene to another, but not providing the important back story to be able to connect everything together. The different scenes just seemed piecemealed together and there were way too many characters to keep track of. I kept feeling like I was missing something. Characters and situations would be introduced without the proper flashback which leaves the reader wondering if they missed a chapter somewhere. For example, the author keeps talking about a “fight” that Lily was in. Now, I read the first book a while ago, so I thought the author was referring to a scene from that book. But, later in the story, the reader learns that Lily was in a fight where she came to the aid of a young black man who was getting beaten up in a parking lot, as the cops looked on. That was definitely NOT in the first book. Another example is when a character would be introduced and Lily seemed to know this person, but the reader has no clue how she knows this person, where they came from, and why they suddenly appeared in the story. It isn’t until later in the book that we get the entire back story, but by then it is just too late and I was left completely confused and not able to connect all the dots.

The book is only 206 pages, but it took me almost 5 days to get through this book. I just had a hard time connecting with the story and couldn’t understand who everyone was and why things were happening. It’s a case of having too many things going on, but not laying out the story clearly enough to allow the reader to truly dig in and feel for the characters. I was really disappointed with this book.

Have you read this book? What did you think? If you have reviewed it on your blog, leave the link in the comments section and I’ll add it here!