Kindle Review: Caribbean Moon by Rick Murcer

Caribbean Moon
by Rick Murcer
3 Faerie Points

Before I start in on the main review of this book I need to go on a bit of a rant about something that ticks me off about books, which was brought back up for me with this particular book. In one section of this book, I won't mention where due to spoilers, the author has a character talk about fags and queers in a basic derogatory manner. In Murcer's case I can forgive him somewhat because it is from the viewpoint of a killer, but a part of me can't even forgive him. If a writer wants to talk down about gay people I think there needs to be a bit of a balance in their book where they put something positive about them as well, so that readers that may identify in that particular persuasion do not instantly want to throw the book (or in my case their kindle) out of a moving vehicle. When did it become okay to just blatantly be hateful in writing with no balance? I would have given this particular book a higher rating if it hadn't been for this simple inclusion on Murcer's part.

There was another less minor issue that I had with Murcer's writing of "Caribbean Moon", which was that he included religion sometimes in the weirdest spots. A character would be dealing with something very profound on the case and suddenly they would mention God or have a thought about him. I understand a writer that believes in Christ including those elements in their work, but it needs to feel organic in the story. There was one point of the book where it was organic and felt very much a natural part of the story. This was in the preacher woman that was on one of the islands. This didn't feel like Murcer was forcing religion into his story. I understand that I am not an author and nor should I criticize heavily on any aspect of writing, but again elements of a story need to feel natural to the reader. The inclusions of religion in many spots of this book felt like an after thought that Murcer has shoved in to appeal to the Christian market. It doesn't work that well here.

The murder mystery aspect of this story and the character of Manny Williams, however, does work masterfully in this story. The story is just a fun little romp on a cruise ship that turns deadly. Murcer makes you feel like you have been on a cruise even if you never have (I never have been) because he tells us that the basic behavior of them is crazy and over the top. This drags us into the world that Williams finds himself in. The story develops in a manner that is believable and at times jaw-dropping. One of the only issues with the mystery aspect of the book is the sheer number of people that end up dead in the book or have something horrible happen to them. It feels like a bit much, but it adds to the urgency of the story as well, thus I am not sure I would have changed this aspect, but still it could be seen as a deficit to another reader of the book.

I would give Murcer's "Caribbean Moon" a solid three faerie points with a few knocks coming off for some of the above issues I have mentioned. If you are looking for a story where you can just try to figure out what is really going on in the story without a lot of moral questions then this could be the book for you. It is definitely one that I could see people sitting on their lawns in their lawn chairs devouring in a single sitting.