The Decorator Who Knew Too Much (Mad for Mod Mysteries, #4) (Madison Night Mystery, #4)

by Diane Vallere

[MurderByDeath]

This series has always been oddly compelling to me - I can't say I ever really loved it, but yet I keep coming back for the next one.  Part of the problem, I think, is that of the three permanent characters in the books, Hudson, Tex and Madison, I really only like Hudson and Tex. I don't have patience for Madison; she's not written to be a warm or likeable character, in my opinion.  Vallere touts Madison's independence to much, she ends up being off-putting, and her independence isn't really independence at all; her heart got broken so she shut everyone out.  That's a bitter cage, not real independence.   Anyhow, I like the two males and generally the mystery plots are pretty good.  But this one just failed for me.  I'm tired of the lack of growth in Madison, even when she's supposedly growing, and the plot was just too twisty and convoluted.  At several points, it reads as though the author confused herself trying to make the plot too labyrinthine.  And what am I supposed to do to with that damn ending?  Are she and Hudson breaking up?  If so, over what?  It was as clear as mud and I'm not in the mood for obscure endings.   I also have to say that while Henery press generally has a stellar record regarding publishing quality, this one was a hot mess.  Grammatically it was, I think, nearly flawless, but the timeline was messed up in places (Madison referring to things happening the day before that happened that morning) and there were more than a few places where she'd start out inside at the beginning of a sentence only to suddenly be outside by the end of it.  Lots of evidence of a major re-write without a final read through for consistency.   Not sure I'll read another if it's published.  Not because of the editing but because I'm just over Madison's issues and the emotional cages she keeps creating for herself.