Being Someone Else – Review

I bought the ebook version of Being Someone Else, because I had enjoyed a previous "Sticks" Hetrick's mystery, Something In Common.

This Swatara County story has an intricate plot that makes for eager reading to get it figured out. Although it is part of the "Sticks" series, Hetrick didn't play as much a part in solving this mystery as I would have liked, but the complimentary characters of detective Flora Vastin and police chief Aaron Brubaker were compelling.

It starts with a murder (duh) and no clues. Then another murder in an adjacent county compounds the questions. The coming together of circumstantial evidence and intuitive thinking leads the police force to an affluent family that has just returned to live in the area. If they are involved, how and why? It's a tricky proposition.

As with most contemporary mysteries, the evolution of the protagonists' private lives also come into play, and we learn of Sticks' growing involvement with Anita, and Flora's courtship by Harry. These are nicely developed, and Flora's situation has impact on the solution of the mystery.

A few negatives: I got the Finkbines and Fishburns confused on occasion; for me there were a few too many "Let me tell you the story" type explanations; and in my post-reading reflections, I wonder about some of the motivation elements that set up the story.

Being Someone Else is also a story of relationships, and the interactive dynamics of several sub-characters are revealed. My personal feelings on this technique, no matter how well presented, is not positive. I prefer stories—especially mysteries—told from only one or two points of view; but multiple viewpoints are a feature of so many novels these days, I sigh and get on with it.

Multiple character development figures strongly in many Lindermuth stories, and he does it well, with each point of view showing a distinctive personality. That, along with good aesthetics of editing and layout, makes Being Someone Else a nice addition to any mystery list.