Time & Chance: An Iowa Murder Mystery - A Serial Novel by 17 Iowa Writers

This serialized murder novel is interesting but suffers from the difficulties of having been serially written by 17 Iowa writers. It is set in the small town of Bella, Iowa that is in the process of getting a gambling boat. There is hard-core opposition to the boat, but things are not what they seem. The fiery preacher Paula is a former (and somewhat current) prostitute, the helpful librarian used to pack a weapon, some of the lady gamblers are more than just sweeties and the best friend of the main character is as devious as can be. On the day the gambling boat arrives, three people are killed, including Spence, the soon to be ex-husband of the main character Charlie. She owns a Bed and Breakfast in Bella and is also a newspaper reporter. Very few of the characters are what they appear to be and as the story unfolds, you slowly learn some of the details regarding their lives. While the motives for the murders were clear from the beginning, I was completely fooled as to who committed them. In most cases, the story flows reasonably well, each author writes approximately thirteen pages. However, there is a discernible difference in styles and the sudden change is sometimes dramatic and disturbing. For unknown reasons, one of the authors chooses to write some words all in uppercase. It doesn't add to the story and I thought it really disrupted the flow. For reasons I didn't understand, the authors also included an appearance by Oprah Winfrey, which was played for the absurd rather than the serious. This is not a high caliber story, at times I thought some of the plot elements were more an attempt at satire than to present a mystery. It is worth reading but not something that I could give a strong recommendation to.