I love travel and am fascinated by Bolivia and South America. I learned a little about travel writing and Bolivia, but the storyline lacked the punch I needed to keep me engaged in the story.

THE TRAVEL WRITER - Jeff Soloway

#1 in the Travel Writer mystery series

MYSTERY IN AN EXOTIC LOCATION - 2.5 stars

Plot - 3.5 stars - Jacob is a travel/guidebook writer who spends his time visiting exotic locations, for free, and reviewing them for various publications. When an ex-girlfriend contacts him to come to Bolivia and help her find an American woman who has gone missing from her hotel, he's anxious to get involved, although he's more interested in reconnecting with Pilar than in finding the woman.

Writing - 3 stars - The writing started out a bit overdone at first, but as Soloway settled into the story, he paid less attention to being flowery and more attention to detail and moving the story forward.

Characters - 1 stars - This is where the story faltered greatly for me. Jacob is a character who doesn't have much substance. That's not because he's not well-built by the author, but because he's just that kind of guy. He lives for the moment, he loves to travel and take advantage of free hotels and other amenities, and he tends to have a vivid imagination and see himself as a hero. Pilar is a discontented PR professional who never seems to be happy. She wants more money and will be pretty devious about getting it. Both characters were unappealing and downright dishonest. For instance, when they wanted a romantic interlude, they simply went to a hotel, showed their credentials, and asked for a free room in exchange for a good review. Secondary character Kenny is simply pathetic, and various other hotel workers were just stereotypical bad guys. Very disappointing.

Title - 3 stars - Straightforward, although it doesn't suggest that the book will be a mystery.

Cover - 4 stars - Dark and sinister in coloring, the open stairway implies an open mystery.

Overview - 2.5 stars - This book shouldn't have been confusing, but it kind of was. The plot is straightforward--Jacob goes to Bolivia in response to Pilar's request to help her look for Hilary. But when things get mixed up with political parties and bad guys, I lost interest. And since Jacob and Pilar are such unattractive characters, I didn't have a lot of investment in the story to keep me turning the pages. Of course, the reader doesn't have to "like" the characters to find value in a book. But in this case the story was disappointing--predictable and unimaginative.

An interesting story about a travel writer who becomes involved in a mystery. Not what I expected as I progressed through the book. However, Jeff's writing kept me reading to the end.

My feedback comments have gone missing! I reviewed this title previously yet it still appears in my list, "GIVE REVIEWS"