Once Wicked Always Dead [Book Review]

I was given the opportunity to review T. Marie Benchley’s new book, Once Wicked Always Dead!  I jumped at the chance because I loved the title and have always been interested in socio/psychopaths. 

To begin, here’s a bit about the book:

“Molly Madison is unaware of the sociopath who is on the loose, creating havoc with a sense of their own justice. Her life is shattered by the sudden death of her beloved parents and the revelation of her husband Phillip's affair with another man. Molly leaves the life of country clubs and the luxury of city life and heads west to Montana, resolved to run the family ranch, and to move on with her life. Her attraction to Clayton Leatherbe, the ranch foreman, is instant, but before a romance can blossom, the ranch falls prey to sabotage by wealthy land developers determined to drive Molly out, and Clayton learns of a family secret that could put the ranch and Molly’s life in jeopardy. A sharp mystery that deals with the themes of family secrets, betrayal, love, and loss, Once Wicked Always Dead is a strong debut from an author with literary blood in her veins.”

M.M.W.E. Publishing House
Hardcover, 336 pages
$24.95 US, $27.95 CA
ISBN: 9780984478705
Also available in Ebook
E PUB: ISBN 9780984478729
E PDF: ISBN 9780984478736

 

What I Thought:

I will start off by saying that this is a little bit out of my normal, reading-for-pleasure comfort zone.  I mostly read fantasy.  And as many people know, fantasy novels are generally pretty long (the book I’m reading now is x pages long), normally are part of a series, and are filled with detailed descriptions and a complicated, in-depth plot.

So, when I started reading Once Wicked Always Dead, I instantly realized that the writing style and plot were much simpler than I was accustomed to reading.  Not a bad thing, though.  I got through the book very quickly because of it, and it was definitely not a boring read.  Bentley did an excellent job of characterization; even though some of the characters at first seemed cliché, they turned out to have much more depth than I expected. 

Near the end of the novel, I was blindsided by a twist which I wholly did not seem coming.  It was very well crafted, and, like most books, ended with a happy ending.  I will admit that I was a little disappointed by the “killer", but then again, being someone who has read nonfiction books about various serial killers and a huge fan of novels like American Psycho, I expect killings to be pretty descriptive, bloody, and gruesome from the beginning to the very end.

All in all, I would give this book 4/5 stars! Great light read and pretty interesting, to boot!

**This is a sponsored review.  I was sent Once Wicked Always Dead for free for review purposes.  However, as always, my review is 100% honest and always my own words**