Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if they don’t know about it? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us let the community know about a great book. So, without further adieu, here’s this week’s book review:
Pearl A Life Too Short: A Death Too Long
Darlene Cox
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
ISBN 9781432766368
Reviewed by: Midwest Book Review
Pearl is Darlene Cox’s third self-published novel. Other books written are A Little Bit of Larceny and Web of Deceit. A fourth novel will be out in November 2011 and is the sequel to Web of Deceit.
Faircloth, Virginia was a small and peaceful town where everyone knew and trusted each other, so it seemed, until a young beautiful woman was found by two young boys beaten to death in Jacobs Gully partially buried under a pile of leaves. Her name was Pearl and she was 28 years old. Possible suspects in her murder would prove to be many. Faircloth’s Sheriff Atherton and his small staff of deputies would have their hands full.
Pearl was a free-spirited woman who was married to a much older man who owned a Cadillac dealership and she was well taken care of by him. She drove around often at night in her Cadillac convertible with the top down, hair blowing in the wind, anytime and anyplace she felt like it often speeding down the highway. The authorities were perplexed about her death. They wondered if she may have had a flat tire and someone gave her a lift, or maybe she picked up a hitchhiker. She was a kind person and they figured she might have known her killer.
The investigation is most intriguing as the cast of characters lure you into the plot keeping you guessing as the clues unfold.
In addition, to the brutal death of Pearl, the charred remains of an unknown young woman were found in an abandoned house adding more suspense, more secrets, and more questions. The story gets complicated, picks up speed, and authorities believe these two murders may be connected as many townspeople became suspect.
For a small town, the investigation was an exhausting task with only a few deputies and a medical examiner’s office. The search for the murder weapon that killed Pearl had been determined to be a small rock with possible blood splatters on it that would become a grueling chore to find in the woods surrounding the crime area. And, the medical examiner was a well-known drinker who would be too slow in giving the results of his findings regarding the DNA and autopsy reports. Onlooker’s footprints and tire tracks ruined valuable evidence that could have been helpful to the forensic team. Hours and hours were spent on the road and in the woods looking for a bloody rock and Pearl’s Cadillac which had been missing since the day she died. Most interesting, her car was a valuable clue needed to help solve the crime.
To add to the mysteries, a third woman was found on the shoulder of the highway badly beaten and left in a ‘catatonic state.’ The plot gets murky and leads become dead ends.
Darlene Cox has once again created a classic “who done-it” tale pulling the reader along guessing at every turn, with a surprise ending. This book is highly recommended.
DISCUSSION: Are you trying to obtain book reviews as part of your overall book promotion strategy?
Self Publishing Advisor 
I’ve recently self published the first part of my Epic Fantasy Trorian’s Belt as a Kindle ebook. So far no reviews, so if anyone would like to write one let me know and I can send a voucher for a free download from Smashwords.
Several years ago I self published my book on how to read tarot, The System of Symbols, a new way to look at tarot, and the reviews for that, which readers spontaneously put up, have definately helped sales. I know that by the number of people who clicked the ‘I found this review helpful’ on Amazon.
Comparing the two projects I’d definitely say it’s much easier to promote non fiction. The reader knows the subject they are looking for, but with fiction they have no idea what is inside until they take off the wrapper. Hence reviews are so important, because they let others gain a wider opinion of content and whether the story has enough excitement and entertainment value to be worth investing not only money in, but also the time to become involved in the characters and storyline.
Toni