The Reader Reviews Are In

(Photo: George Milton, from Pexels.)

Kirkus Reviews has reviewed my debut novel Crimes of Disrespect, and now readers are submitting their experiences with the book. So, here are three reader reviews posted on Goodreads.com, a literary social-media website.

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3 Reviews Posted on Goodreads.com

Casey on goodreads.com

CASEY
"Love, skeletons in the closet, murder, frenemies, and human rawness but not necessarily in that order kept me wanting to turn the pages of Crimes of Disrespect. The book explores deep human nuances and the devastating pain that lead to murder.

"Young kept me on the edge of my seat expertly throwing in new information that drew me further into the mystery of the book and it’s wonderfully diverse and layered characters. Felt like this story could have happened in the town next store thanks to the keen details of Canadian landscape and contemporary issues facing us today."

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Marian Thorpe on goodreads.com

MARIAN THORPE
"A young woman at a prestigious private school in Oakville, Ontario, is found dead alongside the school’s administrator. She – an exchange student from the Coyote River Reserve an hour away – has been the target of racial and cultural harassment. But how and why is the administrator involved?

"Peopled -- as a mystery novel must be — with characters whose personal stories are troubled and disguised, debut novelist R.B. Young neatly uses a dual timeline to move back and forth between the murder investigation and the events leading up to it. The story unfolds from five points of view, with the finger reasonably pointed at several characters. Motives are plausible, although for one, the timelines and terminology used did not work for me. An amateur investigation occurs alongside the official one, allowing the reader to see aspects of the story just the police investigation may not have revealed.

"Hints as to the perpetrator are given, but subtly, and even so will be missed by many — but that is true of many mystery novels: the knowledge needed for the reader to solve the crime is often esoteric. I enjoyed reading a novel set in an area which I know well, and the characters reflect the diversity of the greater Toronto area. The inclusion of an on-going real-life dispute over an indigenous land claim, and the weaving of that history into the plot, added an extra level of interest: I like learning from books, even when they are read for pleasure."

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Nikki Everts

NIKKI EVERTS
"Young has managed to pull off a number of feats with his first mystery novel. Not only has he constructed a well-paced mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, he has set it in a private school where a First Nations' land dispute causes friction among the students.

"A settler of European descent, Young takes on the challenge of creating racially and culturally diverse characters to tell his tale and weaves into his story threads of teen-aged angst, the problems facing ex-con alcoholics and sexism in the police force. Finally, Young seamlessly switches between two time lines that reveal plot twists which bring us to the logical and hard won resolution of the mystery.

"Having set himself so many challenges and written from so many points of view (at least five), Young can be forgiven for characters that are not particularly nuanced. Still, they are distinct enough to drive the story ahead and keep us cheering for them. Fans of the mystery genre should enjoy this book and, for a bonus, will learn something about the Haldimand Tract Treaty and the Two Row Wampum."

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