Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Monsters Under the Bed (Lifting the Veil #4)
Author – Susan Laine
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
No. of Pages - 156

Movie Potential - ★★★☆☆
Ease of reading – easy to read, but not captivating enough
Would I read it again – Probably not.


This was a really strange one for me. I really liked the first and last 20%, but everything in between didn't work for me.

~

PLOT

Unfortunately, this story failed on two halves – the paranormal aspect, which felt really out of place and didn't fit with the storyline, and the crime/mystery aspect, which fell flat and didn't hold my interest. The “Unveiling” world that has been created for this series only briefly touches the plot and in ways that are ridiculous and silly (I'm mostly referring to the weird dreams and the Cupid incidents). The crime, on the other hand, didn't work for me either. I'm a major crime buff – TV, movies, books and in both the fiction and non-fiction areas. This crime didn't feel questionable. And every time we were given “new” suspects for Sam to interview, they all said the same thing, just in a different variation. There was nothing “new” about it.

Plus, the blurb made Sam's partner Ford seem like a real suspect, but it takes until 76% of the way in, for him to be questioned or considered an actual suspect. Previously, he's only been loosely attached to the will and briefly associated with Mo, our victim, in a mystical dream. That doesn't make him a suspect. I get that Sam would be reluctant to challenge him, but anyone with a spine would manage it before now. It feel likes a delay tactic.

The claim that Sam has a photographic and impeccable memory is just a tool for that the author can tell this story in 1st person – a deviation from the previous books in the series – and make it Sam's journey, written after the fact. Without that ability, it would be impossible for anyone to recollect precise conversations, thoughts or events the way that is detailed here. I still find it hard to stomach, even knowing he's got that ability.

Also, this unfailing memory somehow allows Sam to forget social plans. Which is not really likely, since “he” wrote this entire story after the fact. So if he can remember all those conversations, details and events in such perfect clarity, even his dreams, then there's no reason he should forget about social plans, which have more importance.

I have a problem with the word “omnivorous” being used instead of bisexual. This is the second book in this series that does that and it sounds very predatory and negative. It's kind of sleazy, to be honest.

There is very little essence of the world Laine has built in this series, within this plot. Other than the solution in the last 20%, one very strange Cupid incident and a few weird nightmares, there's nothing about the Unveiling that is more than a mere mention on the radio or a tidbit thrown in for good measure. But, saying that, it's not your normal P.I. story either. The mystery over the missing Haydn and Mo's death is too flat to ever be a real crime drama. For me, there was no whodunit.

~

CHARACTERS

Sam is a typical P.I. - ex cop, nosy, inquisitive and hard working. But, I don't really get a sense of his personality through any of the book. The most personality comes from Ford, who is more of a side character, and from Mo, who is dead for the entire book. To be honest, when it comes to Ford, I knew nothing was going to be simple. People just don't do a one eighty with their personality like that. And I pretty much knew who he was from at least the halfway mark.

The side characters – Lovell, Giulia, Parkinson, Cecil – all have their little quirks. Not one of them really stands out in any way. They're all typical suspects too – each with a motive, though the means and opportunity are never really questioned.

~

OVERALL

The romance was good. The crime wasn't. The link to the Unveiling and that world didn't sit right.
Those, in a nutshell, are my problems and positive experiences with this story. The romance of Sam and Ford was, by far, the best part of the story (though they're a little heavy handed with the sex).

Despite this being book 4 in the Lifting the Veil series, only books 1 and 3 were actually linked. It would be more accurate to say that this series (other than 1 and 3, so far) are actually all stand alone novels, that all take place in the same universe. There is no link between any of them other than the Unveiling and even in this story it was a very, very tentative thread.

~