#116 Second Cousin Once Removed

 Second Cousin Once Removed by Kenneth L Toppell

I was asked to be on the blog tour of this book run by Dave (@TheWriteReads) who always does such an amazing job with these tours! Admittedly this book doesnt sound like something i would usually read but given how short it is (232 pages) i thought id give it a whirl.

The story follows Henry, a semi retired lawyer who is a senior partner at Foxglove Associates. Hes not your typical high profile defense lawyer or a district attorney instead Henry works on the boring side of law that no one ver hears much about. (I personally work at a law firm so think im entitled to comment on how mundane his job is haha). When Henry begins researching his family tree and discovers a second cousin that he has never met, he immediatley begins delving into this lost connection to find more information about him. Henry contacts his Uncle Ira to find out more about this cousin, Shelley. When Ira ends up dead and Henry gets a text from Shelley that basically tells him to stop looking Henry fears for his life. 

Henry bumps into a lady at his office called Carolyn and after she mentions Ira's name Henry immediatley becomes suspisious that shes been sent by Shelley or that shes bad news. When he confides in her about what is happening the two set off out of state to evade Shelley whilst continuing their investigation on him. 

My initial impression of Carolyn is that she doesnt make much sense as a character. When she met Henry and he was so elusive yet aggressive towards her why didnt she run for the hills like any other normal person would have? Instead she leaves the state with a man she doesnt even know, cuts all her hair off and agrees to temporarily change her identity. It all felt a bit off to me if im completely honest. 

I found the plot a bit disjointed, both Henry and Carolyn fear for their lives but have no confirmation that Ira is dead or that Shelley is in any way dangerous (these things come much later but it didnt make much sense about how they panicked without knowing all the facts, didnt seem at all rational to me) 

As the story goes on i did grow a bit fond of Henry i must admit and the writing is good i just dont think im the target demographic for this book. It also very American and a bit old fashined with its references, for example, Burt Lancaster (im sorry but who?), Elmer Gantry and 'It Happened One Night'. They all went over my head im afraid and i do think it hindered my enjoyment of the book overall. 

Shelley is a bit of a weird antagonist, i dont think i could take him very seriously with a name like Shelley. I would have liked a bit more of his background and why he was a contract killer etc. 

Overall this wasnt terrible, it just wasnt for me at all. I could see my dad reading and enjoying it a lot more than me which is no fault of the book really.