Having finished the first of three in the box set of Kory M. Shrum's "Dying for a Living" series and leaving a review, this reader just finished the second book - "Dying by the Hour" and wanted to post her review before moving on to the last installment of this set. Shrum gives enough information that a new reader could jump in and follow this story fairly well; technically, this is a stand alone mystery, but some nuances from the first book are appreciated and helpful to a reader. And in this installment, the mystery isn't so much a "who done it" but more of a "why is he doing that" type. Shrum doesn't give quite as much details on the physical aspects of the characters in this tale, so reading the first book would be helpful in that aspect, for those that truly want a more detailed physical description. No, in this part of the series, readers can watch as various characters grow, slide backwards, or come to some type of understanding as to who they really are, more like a bit of a character study, but not quite to that depth. There were a few more grammar, spelling and punctuation errors found in this book, compared to the first book, with most once again being a missing word - or two - from a sentence. However, the missing words were not enough to truly confuse a reader since most peoples brains will simply fill in either the missing word or a suitable substitute. Dialogue remained authentic to each character, although a few conversations came across as stilted and forced - which may have been Shrum's goal, actually. Shrum also used changing point of view in this book, with the tale coming from protagonist Jesse's view as well as her best friend and assistant, Ally's view. This reader found Ally's view interesting in many ways and appreciated the chance to get inside of her head, even though the only thing really revealed, Ally has already stated. She would do anything to protect Jesse and keep her safe. This second book delved a bit more deeply into Jesse's traumatized past, and Shrum did an excellent job handling the abuse and suffering Jesse lived with, as well as allowing readers a chance to witness some of the agony Caldwell had survived, via his forcing images into Jesse's mind. Ooops, sorry, should have mentioned spoiler alert on that! At the end of the tale, a reader could stop if they wanted but it is a bit of a cliffhanger as to whether or not Caldwell or Jesse will prevail, and how damaged would the "winner" be, after this battle of the titans? Shrum also inserted a short author's note explaining the third story in this box set is one of the secondary characters views, Brinkley. This reader is quite anxious to see what he reveals, what we will become privy to, that even Jesse is unaware of... so again, I do recommend the series and the author, and am ready to dive back into Jesse's world, via Brinkley's eyes. ** Review originally posted to Amazon reviews on July 8, 2017 the Goodreads review link will be included at the end of the boxed set of three.. **
