by 
Title and Author: Dance For A Dead Princess by Deborah Hawkins
Publication Date: Deborah Hawkins (September 2, 2013)
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Book Review:
Dance For A Dead Princess by Deborah Hawkins attracted me when I read the blurb which talked about how a wealthy Duke is looking to find that incriminating evidence that Princess Diana left before her death. This evidence will reveal that her death was not an accident but a murder.
But the only way to the evidence is through the tough lawyer, Taylor Collins.
Can he reveal the killer or will he also end up dead like all the other people he loved?
What is that spark that he experiences when he is with Taylor? It can’t be love. Or can it be?
The premise looked so interesting and add the fact that I absolutely loved Princess Diana. She was my role model right beside Mother Teresa when I was small and watched her on TV. Well, while the blurb is interesting and the cover intriguing with all its grey hues, I wasn’t as entertained by this book as I had hoped to be.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
The plot idea is great and author did a decent job here but the story stretched at places and the end didnt give any definitive closure except to the sub story involving the Duke, Nicholas’ romance. The characterization is admirable and I could empathize with both Nicholas who had lost so much in his life and Taylor who had suffered grave traumas but still stood up and made a life for herself. Nicholas’ ward, Lucy was spoilt and no clear closure is given to the mystery to her actions and I felt some development in her actions should have taken place when answers to all the mysteries surrounding her came to light.
Princess Diana is a character very different from the real Diana. Although, they were supposed to be the same but still when I visualized the book Diana, I never caught the picture of the real Princess in my mind. Also, sometimes I felt sorry that her tragic life had been taken to write this fictional book which at the end didn’t give any extra insight into her life. I felt the author could have easily taken a fictional character to tell her story. She didn’t need a real person here.
The story started in an interesting fashion but the pace is not maintained and somewhere around halfway, I started losing interest.
If I take away the angle with Diana, the sub story with Nicholas and Taylor and the mystery in their life with all the drama is way better and sometimes the sub story felt as the primary story. The suspense is maintained right till the end. The murder mystery of a different character in this sub story also had me sitting up to take notice.
I absolutely loved the glimpses into the English history and the historical romance story of Nicholas’ ancestor which plays an important role in his life too.
All in all, Dance For A Dead Princess is a decent story with an engrossing sub plot and a not-so-interesting and well done primary plot. Only for the sub plot with its intriguing mystery, intense romance and heartfelt emotional play with an interesting dose of English history thrown in, I give Dance For A Dead Princess 3.5 out of 5. Had the main plot been done better this could have been a memorable book for me. The author is talented and I wish her all the best. Will be checking out her other books in the future.
I received the book from the author for my honest opinion. All the views above are my personal and unbiased opinions and in no way influenced.
Buy From:
On SALE at 99c or Rs. 63 for a limited time!
Amazon IN: Kindle Book
Amazon US: Paperback | Kindle Book
