Book Review: Nick of Time by Tim Downs

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: May 17, 2011

To the shock of all who know him, Nick Polchak, Bug Man extraordinaire, is getting married. But before the big day arrives, a discovery of a dead body threatens to interrupt his plans. His fiancé, Alena, soon finds herself questioning his whereabouts, and her efforts to track him down lead her right into the path of danger. All is not as it seems, and Nick’s quest to uncover the truth will also require Nick to search his heart for what really matters.

Something I appreciate about Tim Down’s novels is that they consistently make me laugh. His mix of humour, fascinating characters, and suspense usually make for an enjoyable read. The bug man novels really are like no other. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations created by earlier Bug Man novels. I love to be surprised when reading a book like this, and the twist Downs throws into the story certainly does that, but in this case I felt cheated. The mystery that Nick was racing to solve turned out to be something entirely different, and just did not feel plausible to me. I was also a little disappointed with the way the characters so casually engaged in white-lies with no sense of the damage such lies can do. I should note that I still did find the story highly entertaining, humorous, and difficult to put down. I am greatly looking forward to the next Bug Man novel because I have so enjoyed the earlier ones in this series, but I do hope it will live up to his earlier works. 3 of 5 stars.

I was provided with a galley of this novel from the publisher via netgalley.