PositiveCriminal ElementAn excellent collection of suspenseful crime dramas. The characters in each story vary in race, gender, and social situation, but the reader is easily transported into each new situation and mindset. I was able to move from one story to the next often without a beat between page turns ... there were a few stories that left me flipping back through the pages asking myself, \'Where was the tie to food?\' ... a delicious collection of entertaining stories that will keep any reader asking for seconds. It’s a book I’d recommend any crime-fiction fan add to their collection for some light-hearted reading in between dark novels. Plus, an added bonus is that a collection of food-based crime-fiction is an excellent talking piece for anyone’s bookshelves often browsed by visitors.
Cherise Wolas
PositiveThe Criminal ElementThe Family Tabor by Cherise Wolas is a provocative, gorgeously rendered novel that reckons with the nature of the stories we tell ourselves and our family and the price we pay for second chances ... While the novel’s ending is not what one would call happily-ever-after, the revelations felt somewhat superficial and lightweight. All of the stories indeed come full circle, but the intensity doesn’t quite match the enigmatic air of the novel. Deep hints, thoughts of doubt and shame, and a peek into so many characters’ minds made the novel feel like it was going to be so much more. In the end, The Family Tabor is simply the story of a family and a life-changing weekend. Had the promise of something greater not been underneath it all, the reader would have gladly gotten to know the Tabors, shared in their grief, and been happy when they find their purposes in life.
