Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

To date, I've no idea if this series is meant to be in the Christian fiction genre. Although well written, I find it frustrating that the author doesn't delve deeper into the characters and their flaws--not only this, but the relationship between Emily and Colin seems to be that of two teens who are still virgins. At least, this is how it's been so far--and I'm up to the second book. The other thing that really got to me was the unrealistic reaction of young widow, Emily. She only lost her husband 6 months previously in a rather traumatic way, and already she's dating at the behest of her friends, who all seem too perfect to be true. This makes Emily appear as someone who has no depth of character. After all, she was in love with her husband and then she's suddenly dating some hot, young detective? Not at all believable for a so-called grieving widow. The first mystery had great potential, even though I found it predictable and knew straight away who the murderer was. The second, went round and round in circles; the regurgitating plotline left a lot to be desired, but at least, the identity of the murderer was unexpected, so this is a good thing. The thing I am enjoying at this point (and which keeps me reading) is the actual background mystery of what really happened to Emily's husband. This seems to be stretching across all three books, and it's the only real interesting factor in the series. I think these stories would have been excellent had the author made the characters more human, more flawed, more emphatic, more vulnerable, and with real, everyday problems. As they are portrayed now, the characters have no depth, and I cannot relate to them at all. Not only this, but unless this is a Christian romance/mystery, I think the two main protagonists should stop acting like young teens and take their relationship to the next level. At present, the relationship is very unrealistic and almost mechanical. Finally, I find the interchange of mystery jumping to teen romance, jumping back to mystery again very distracting. The story doesn't weave at all well. It's a shame because these stories have great potential, but they need to be further developed in my opinion. The two stars I gave on this review are for the well-written, well-edited stories (very few typos), plus the background story of Emily's deceased husband.