Greetings, dear readers:

Here’s another review for you!

Book Review:

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, by Scott D. Southard.

* Please note: I purchased this book. The author did not solicit this review.*

My overall Amazon Star Rating – 4 stars for this mystery/thriller.

 
As always, I will not rehash the plot of this book and summarize the story. I’ll leave that up to the book’s cover and other venues.
First off, this is an absolutely fantastic cover design. However, I was deceived by this cover. The story isn’t the tale the cover caused me to assign to it. But it’s nice, nonetheless, and deserves applause.

 
The characters are well-rounded and none are alike. Maximilian is a character to be reckoned with and I found myself wanting to punch him in the face a few times. Bob, the narrator of the story, is actually my favorite character. I mean, who can’t love someone named Bob?

 
The copy could use another look from an editing perspective, but there’s nothing too awful or that impeded my reading the story. I was into this book from page one. The amusement is solid and the scenes and different storylines merge nearly flawlessly from one to the other. The amusement is solid and the scenes and different storylines merge nearly flawlessly from one to the other. Even though this book is narrated in the First Person, we can still seem to see the other character’s points of view, personalities, even facial expressions and feelings. The First Person narration takes away nothing from this story at all. It’s still well rounded and entertaining. The story is paced well until the end. I felt the ending came way too quickly.

 
When I started reading this book, I thought I was reading one tale, and then by the last few chapters of the book – the last 3 or so – a plot twist was revealed that left me shaking my head. I wanted Maximilian and Bob and the crew solving a great mystery…do or die. I was very confused at the end and had to sit and think about it for a while. In truth, the end plot twist caused this story to come crashing down for me personally. In fact, I am still not sure what in the world happened. On another note, I believe this would’ve been a good plot twist…in another story.

 
By the end, I wanted to give this book fewer stars, because I was disappointed. However, at the center of the book, I had already assigned it 4 stars. So, I am still giving this book 4 stars because I was hugely engaged until those last few chapters…where that end twist made me livid. If a book can do that to me, it’s worth the stars! Therefore, I cannot base my rating on the fact that I did not care for the ending. I was fully entertained up to that point. I did not like the changes in reality, back and forth – are we real or not, that started happening in the last quarter of the book. It was confusing. I really wanted a haunted castle, or someone smart enough to create a haunting for the likes of Maximilian Standforth. I, personally, was let down at the end. The story left me going, huh?… I just feel the plot twist shorted the story of something that I could rave about.

 
I think if you love mystery or thrillers…or anything even Sherlock Holmes like, this is a good book for you. It was for me, but in my opinion, the ending ruined my high. It’s a good ending if you’re a reader who likes a surprise ending that knocks your car off the rails.

 
I wish the author would write more stories with these two characters. I mean, the ending of this book is such that there would be no questions raised regarding more stories of this group.

 
Here’s the Amazon link to Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare. Take a look!

http://www.amazon.com/Maximilian-Standforth-Case-Dangerous-Dare-ebook/dp/B00CXSDEBE/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405884587&sr=1-1&keywords=Maximilian+Standforth+and+the+Case+of+the+Dangerous+Dare
Happy reading!