Bad vs. Good Reviews by Debra H. Goldstein
April 13, 2025 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Debra H. Goldstein, Maze in Blue, reviews, With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying
Authors are often told to ignore reviews of their works. Some can, but most can’t. In fact, many writers can’t help focusing on anything except the bad ones.
I read reviews. Sometimes I totally agree and learn from the point being made, but often, I’d love to respond by telling the reviewer how crazy he/she is (authors are also told not to respond). For example, when Maze in Blue was published, the reviews and ratings were all favorable – mostly 5’s and an occasional 4. And then, someone posted a one-star Amazon review. The rationale was that not only had I gotten a main road in Ann Arbor wrong, but that if the character drove the road as I described it, they’d have physically run into the Dental school.
The reviewer was right for the way the road presently is, but Maze in Blue was set in the 1970’s. The road and building were neither moved nor built until a year after the story occurred. I desperately wanted to respond with a choice comment, but happily, the next review, was a five-star, written by the daughter of a U of M professor. She pointed out that the differences and noted what great and exact memories Maze brought back to her about living on campus in the 1970’s.
Talking to other authors, I’ve discovered they also have received one-star reviews that were a little out-to-lunch. One reviewer didn’t like the cover, another stated she didn’t read the book after learning the author name on the book was a pseudonym for a writer whose last novel she didn’t like, and a third said the book, while enjoyable, wasn’t anything to write home about.
Sometimes though, reviewers make my day. That’s been the case with my recently released collection of short stories, With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying. The collection contains eighteen stories about family and friends, their sins, and their sometimes redemption The tales range in tone from cozy to dark.
Here are some of my favorite reviews:
Veronica Jorge reviewed the stories from a murder and law perspective for A Slice of Orange. She wrote, “Don’t be fooled by the title. This is not a book about morality or religion. Far from it. It’s all about….MURDER … In this collection of eighteen award-winning short mysteries, everyday people find themselves caught up in events and circumstances that challenge and test them, and that reveal the thoughts and intentions of their hearts…. Goldstein is masterful at creating interest and intrigue, building suspense, and adding her signature twist at the end of each tale. … Debra’s years as a judge and litigator, combined with her skills as a storyteller, make for a perfect combination that, in these mysteries, introduce us to a diverse group of characters with a variety of motives for murder. Yet, where no one is above the law…unless you don’t get caught, or the law covers up for you. Read Veronica’s Review
Victoria Weisfeld fell in love with character voices, especially those that were children. She opined: “What’s most fun about reading this collection is how varied the stories are, even with the frequent appearance of something delicious. … A number of the stories feature children, precocious ones for the most part, like the son of the sheriff who not only discovers a body, but analyzes the crime scene based on his Magic of Forensic Science book. One I especially liked was “The Girls in Cabin Three,” made up solely of letters home from a teenage camper, whose reports must have horrified her parents! Although the stories are short, Goldstein loads in some compelling surprises, as in her story about a homeless encampment, “So Beautiful or So What,” where characters aren’t necessarily what they seem. Do they all get redemption? The lucky ones do. Read Victoria’s Review.
Writers Who Kill reviewer E.B. Davis focused on plots and characterizations. “Thankfulness, forgiveness, redemption and sometimes sinful denial are the result of living and are ways of coping with life’s dilemmas. Debra presents situations that are down-home real, and some are scary, pouncing on the reader like unaware prey. While reading, I heard the varied voices of characters, from youngsters of both sexes, several lawyers, to the old black men. Many stories were set in the South, which is unsurprising since that’s where Debra has lived.” – E.B. Davis – Writers Who Kill – Read E.B.’s Review
Perhaps the most interesting set of reviews were written and published cross-referencing each other for Bolo Books and Dru’s Musings by Kristopher Zgorzki and Dru Ann Love. Kristopher normally prefers suspense and thriller, while Dru specializes in reviewing cozies. Consequently, he reviewed the darker stories while she featured the cozy ones.
He described six stories before concluding: “This is Where I Buried My Wives” – This is my favorite story in the collection. A man and his new wife have a picnic lunch on the hill overlooking the graves of his previous wives. Readers will feel the tension in the air from the first sentence to the inevitable conclusion. This is a perfect example of how a dark tale can be told in non-graphic ways without losing any of the impact. … This is just a sampling of the excellent stories included in With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying. All fans of short crime fiction should include this book in their personal libraries.” Read Kristopher Review
Dru Ann examined ten lighter stories and found “With this collection of crime fiction short stories, Debra H. Goldstein takes us to the light side and the dark side where they all have one theme in common – mischief and mayhem. … These were all terrific reads…” Read Dru Ann’s Review
If you are an author, tell me about your “worst” review. Readers, have you ever left a review you realized was an oops?
Judge Debra H. Goldstein left the bench to follow her passion for writing mysteries. She is the author of author of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying, a collection of her short stories, Kensington’s Sarah Blair Mystery Series and two standalones: Maze in Blue and Should Have Played Poker. Her novels and short stories have received Silver Falchion, IPPY, AWC, and BWR awards and been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Claymore finalists.
More of Debra’s books
Why Do You Read Blogs? by Debra H. Goldstein
August 13, 2024 by Bethlehem Writers Group in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as Blog posts, Debra H. Goldstein, Give-a-way, mysteries, reading
There are many reasons I write blogs, such as this one. Some include interacting with readers, hoping to attract new readers, sharing my thoughts in a forum that reaches more people than journaling would, and because I enjoy it.
My blogs range from a personal topic that crosses my mind to blatant self-promotion. I want people to become familiar with my five books in Kensington’s Sarah Blair series. If you don’t already know, unlike most cozies, Sarah is a woman who finds being in the kitchen more frightening than murder. I also hope University of Michigan or academic fans will check out IPPY winning Maze in Blue, a mystery set on U of M’s campus, or that traditional mystery lovers will pickup a copy of Should Have Played Poker. If I’m not pushing my series and standalones, I often use blogs to promote the newest anthology or periodical I have a short story in. Sometimes, I utilize a blog to introduce readers to other writers or books that they might not otherwise be familiar with. Finally, I try to direct people to sign up for my newsletter or my personal “It’s Not Always a Mystery” blog from my website: https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com.
I also subscribe to several blogs and read them religiously for their humor, insight, or because I like the people who write them. At this point, I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t sign up for another blog, but I feel an obligation to follow friends or people who interest me. Of course, if they tend to be too long-winded, I merely glance at the heading and hit delete (do you ever do that?).
To me, the soft spot for a blog is 300-500 words. Just enough for a reader to take the ideas that it is conveying in immediately. Usually, I try to make one major point that the reader will leave with. Although a lot of bloggers do giveaways or share personal tidbits, that’s not why I follow them (okay, maybe for the personal tidbits. Let’s be honest, I also read People magazine and TV Guide from cover to cover).
Why do you read blogs? Why do you follow this specific blog? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my first Sarah Blair mystery, One Taste Too Many (mass market or e-book – U.S. only). I’ll look forward to reading your answers.
Judge Debra H. Goldstein (www.DebraHGoldstein.com) is the author of Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series and two standalone novels. Her novels and short stories have received Silver Falchion, IPPY, BWR, and AWC awards and been named as Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Claymore finalists. Debra’s short pieces have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. A national board member of Sisters in Crime, Debra previously served on the national boards of SinC and MWA and was president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters.
Books by Debra H. Goldstein
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group
FIVE BELLES TOO MANY: A Sarah Blair Mystery BY DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN—REVIEWED BY VERONICA JORGE
June 22, 2022 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as #Cozy #Mystery, book review, Debra H. Goldstein, new release, Sarah Blair Mystery
FIVE BELLS TOO MANY
Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington Publishing Corp. 2022 ISBN 978-1-4967-3223-1
She’s done it again! In her new cozy mystery, Five Belles Too Many, Debra H. Goldstein once again shows her mastery at creating a tangle of secret lives and ambitious hearts where she hides the killer in plain sight within the story. And though we meticulously follow the clues she scatters for us, we’re always thrown for a loop because the killer is never who we think.
If you have been following these reviews, as I hope you have, and reading her previous books, you’ll be familiar with the twins, Emily the chef of Southwind restaurant in Wheaton, Alabama, and her sister Sarah, who works for a lawyer.
Trouble and murder seem to follow the twins in every project and venture and their joint ownership of the restaurant has found murder as the main course one too many times. Working in concert, they’ve always helped the police catch the culprit.
In Five Belles Too Many, Sarah takes center stage. The city of Wheaton hosts a Southern Belles reality show where five couples compete to win a perfect wedding and dream honeymoon. Excitement. Nerves on edge. Egos and tempers flaring. The tension ramps up when someone turns up dead. Sarah’s investigative instincts kick in as she attempts to identify the killer and prevent another death. The stakes are high because her mother is one of the show’s contestants and possibly the next victim.
Available July 2022, a perfect cozy mystery to add to your summer reading collection.
Remember to try the recipes at the end of the book.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on July 22nd!
0 1 Read moreFOUR CUTS TOO MANY: A Sarah Blair Mystery by DEBRA H. GOLDSTEIN—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
May 22, 2021 by Veronica Jorge in category Book Reviews by Veronica Jorge, Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as A Sarah Blair Mystery, Book reviews, Debra H. Goldstein, New book release, Reviews by Veronica Jorge
Four Cuts Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery By Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington Publishing Corp. 2021 ISBN 978-1-4967-3221-7
It started out as a regular day. Sarah Blair sat outside of the Carleton Junior Community College waiting for her friend Grace Winston, a cutlery teacher in the culinary arts department. And if you’ve read the previous Sarah Blair mysteries, you know that nothing is ever ordinary in Sarah’s life.
In Four Cuts Too Many, Debra H. Goldstein’s new Sarah Blair cozy mystery, Dr. Douglas Martin, the chairman of the culinary arts program gets stabbed in the back…literally. Sarah dons her sleuthing cap once again to find the real killer, but she finds herself hard pressed to figure out who had the best motive because the entire staff referred to Dr. Martin as the ‘Malevolent Monster.’
When the police target Grace as the prime suspect, even Sarah cannot explain away her friend’s argument with the chairman and her bloody apron. Or the fact that the knife in his back belonged to Grace!
Like searching for a hidden object embedded in a painting, Debra is a master at hiding the true killer in plain sight within the story. Filled with a motley crew of characters and a tangle of secret lives, and ambitious hearts where no one is exactly what they seem, Four Cuts Too Many is an engaging page turner and a delightful read.
I can’t wait to read what Debra cooks up in her next mystery. Five __ Too Many? Whatever it is, I am certain that with her creativity and story skills she will create another recipe for success.
And if you want to ramp up your kitchen skills, the recipes at the end of the book are a tasty ending to a great story so make sure to treat yourself.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on June 22nd!
The Sarah Blair Mystery Series
(Hover over covers for buy links. Click covers for more information.)
2 0 Read moreFeatured Books
MY SOUL TO KEEP
Miranda has three days until she must surrender control of her own life forever.
More info →
SCHOOLING THE JOCK
Only an unfair universe makes a guy who’s that gorgeous so damned obnoxious.
More info → 
