Super review of White Lightning

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, September 23, 2011
By
Susan O'Neill (Andover, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

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This review is from: White Lightning: Murder In The World Of Stock Car Racing (Volume 1) (Paperback)

I just finished the Kindle edition of White Lightning, and I'm impressed. G.C. Smith is quite the writer. And researcher: I don't know where he gets his information about NASCAR, the Carolina Low Country, or what a transvestite wears to hide his/her tell-tale bulge, but it all feels authentic and unforced.

This is a formulaic (no pun intended) tale about the hero-done-wrong who fights the corrupt good-ole-boy system to clear himself and a friend of murder charges by playing detective. But the writing sets it above the concept; it's skillful, wry and great fun to read, and moves the action along smartly. His characters are three-dimensional and enjoyable. And if the ending seems a bit too happy-ever-after, what the hell--it's NASCAR. Anything less would've been a disappointment.

The only complaint I have is my usual rant about self-published books: Smith needs an editor. The punctuation sometimes made me itch, and there are several typos that should have been cleaned up before this hit the stage. That said, even though I tend to get hung up on stuff like that, this was such a pleasure to read that missing commas and quote marks didn't throw me off my stride.

It's worth noting that if he'd published this with a big house--which should've happened--they would've done the editing.

Too bad. Their loss.

Susan O'Neill
Don't Mean Nothing