Title: Final Critique: A Kira Logan Mystery
Author: J.C. Andrew
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1648032998
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 257
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares

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Mystery novels are fun because the premise is usually the same; there is a murder that needs to be solved, and we, the readers, try to figure it out while the authors take us down dark hallways with twists and turns. These stories often occur on seedy city streets or sleepy towns where crime rarely happens. But what happens when an author steps away from these tropes and places their characters in an idyllic setting where everyone seems to be connected to tragic events from years before?

When Kira Logan shows up to a remote cabin in the woods for an art retreat, she has no idea what lies ahead of her. What is supposed to be a quiet week where she and others teach their art specialties to students, immediately sours when it turns out many of the participants know each other, and they are all linked to a tragic car accident. To make matters worse, the person responsible for that accident is at the retreat with them. Tensions are already high between participants, but when an accident strikes one of the students, it has Kira wondering if it was an accident at all or if the past has come back to haunt this art retreat.

Final Critique:  A Kira Logan Mystery is a slow-burn story that takes a little focus to get into at first but pays off in the end. Author J.C. Andrews slowly builds the characters up from nothing to make them interesting and gives each a motive for revenge. To this book’s credit, it does not follow the traditional mold of a mystery novel which is a refreshing take for one of the most popular genres of the past two centuries.

A different approach to the mystery novel makes this book unique and worth checking out. Although there is some violence in this book, it is otherwise written as a book for audiences of most ages. This is not the first time Kira Logan has found herself at the center of a mystery, and I doubt it will be the last if Andrew keeps up with the imaginative storytelling.