Angel at Troublesome Creek by Mignon F. Ballard

After her beloved aunt dies, Mary George attempts to kill herself. She fails, but an odd woman who claims to be an angel shows up and says she wants to help her. The angel, a World War II-era lady named Augusta, points out that Mary George's aunt's death is more than a bit suspicious. Before she knows it, Mary George is sleuthing about and looking for clues to why someone might have killed Aunt Caroline, with a guardian angel assisting her.

I found this book very generic. I was actually rolling my eyes at the bland plot and stereotypical mystery characters. At the end of the book I don't think there was a single character I cared about or had found interesting. The writing was just as simplistic as the plot. A late elementary-school aged child wouldn't have any trouble with reading it due to the lack of any complex words and basic, repetitive sentence structure. The dialogue was badly stilted, and I winced my way through a number of conversations. The author doesn't seem to realize that the reader might be able to use context to figure out the most basic things, and wastes a lot of time explaining things that didn't need such an elaborate explanation.

This book is fine if you have some time to waste or need a book where one only has to use minimal brainpower to follow what's happening, but otherwise you may find it frustrating.

2 Stars
 
Emme