From the journal
4 Star Review of Delusional by Steven Freeman
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2SNGEDLM8GFL1
Nice Character Study Embedded Within Exciting Action
Steven Freeman rated it 4 of 5 stars
In Scott Spotson’s “Delusional,” career-minded Patricia Fowler falls for alluring but married Paul Blast, whose once-happy marriage has withered into husk of it former magnificence. As she struggles between her attraction to Paul and her sense of dishonor in loving a married man, Patricia faces growing threats to not only her relationship with Paul but also her personal safety. The mounting tension attendant with these threats pulls the reader along, increasing the velocity of page-turning as the reader nears the end of the story.
And while the story’s unanticipated twists and turns provide a more-than-satisfying measure of action, some of the novel’s real pleasures are the character studies it provides. Patricia and Paul are fully realized in three dimensions to the point where the reader concludes that Spotson has either personally experienced his characters’ emotional angst or is close to someone who has. Few readers will finish this story without drawing some parallel to his/her own life.
I enjoyed the crispness of Spotson’s narrative style (“Idle hands and jealous minds are not a healthy combination”). My strong four-star (4.4) rating is a result of “Delusional” falling a bit into a genre I don’t normally embrace (and the denouement to the story that genre produces) more than any fault in the book itself. “Delusional” left an opening for a sequel, and I would be interested to see how the story continues to unfold.
Nice Character Study Embedded Within Exciting Action
Steven Freeman rated it 4 of 5 stars
In Scott Spotson’s “Delusional,” career-minded Patricia Fowler falls for alluring but married Paul Blast, whose once-happy marriage has withered into husk of it former magnificence. As she struggles between her attraction to Paul and her sense of dishonor in loving a married man, Patricia faces growing threats to not only her relationship with Paul but also her personal safety. The mounting tension attendant with these threats pulls the reader along, increasing the velocity of page-turning as the reader nears the end of the story.
And while the story’s unanticipated twists and turns provide a more-than-satisfying measure of action, some of the novel’s real pleasures are the character studies it provides. Patricia and Paul are fully realized in three dimensions to the point where the reader concludes that Spotson has either personally experienced his characters’ emotional angst or is close to someone who has. Few readers will finish this story without drawing some parallel to his/her own life.
I enjoyed the crispness of Spotson’s narrative style (“Idle hands and jealous minds are not a healthy combination”). My strong four-star (4.4) rating is a result of “Delusional” falling a bit into a genre I don’t normally embrace (and the denouement to the story that genre produces) more than any fault in the book itself. “Delusional” left an opening for a sequel, and I would be interested to see how the story continues to unfold.