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http://www.readerviews.com/
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Reviewed by Joe Graham
http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewOsterkam
pTooNeartheEdge.html
December, 2006
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Sharon Meyer’s husband Adam is killed in a
fall at the Grand Canyon and the authorities
rule it an accident or suicide. But Sharon
suspects foul play and is introduced to Cleo
Sims, a Grief Counselor in Boulder, Colorado.
Cleo also runs a project called the Contact
Project to help people who she feels can
benefit from it to try to contact loved ones
who have died. Cleo quickly becomes drawn
into to the problem of what happened to
Sharon’s husband. She also has to deal with
Donald Waycroft, a psychology professor who
is Sharon’s father and who is vehemently
opposed to Sharon having anything to do
with Cleo and her “wacko” Contact Project
and he threatens to ruin Cleo’s reputation.
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Also, added to the mix is a very attractive
man, Erik, who seems to be interested in
Sharon and/or Cleo and is possibly a con
man, Sharon’s ex-boy friend, Joel who is the
father of Sharon’s son Nathan who reappears
on the scene after Adam’s death, and a
doctor, Dr. Ahmed, who may be involved in
drug trafficking (Cleo’s mother is in a nursing
home under Dr. Ahmed’s care). Besides
dealing with Sharon’s problems, Cleo is also
dealing with troubles in relationship with her
boyfriend, Pablo, a police detective and
problems with her mother in the nursing
home. Cleo also has a dead surfer dude
named Tyler that appears to her to give her
hints to help her solve the crime. But don’t
let this paranormal visitor throw you off the
book. Tyler adds a little more mystery, but he
doesn’t interfere with the main story line of
the book.
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Osterkamp stirs all of these elements
together for a very satisfying read. And with
several possible candidates for who might
have done Adam in, if he was done in, the
reader is kept guessing until the final pages of
the story. An added plus in the novel is the
descriptions of the various locations in and
around Boulder. Boulder residents, besides
enjoying the mystery itself, will enjoy reading
about their town and non-Boulder residents
may want to make a list of places to visit in
Boulder when they get the chance to visit.
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I would recommend “Too Near the Edge” for
any mystery lover. Osterkamp kept me
engaged throughout the book as I tried to
figure out what was going to happen next. I
was a little concerned that the paranormal
aspect of the book might be a little too far
out, but that was not the case. The surfer
dude Tyler added to the book instead of
detracting from it. The book is a very
enjoyable read as the reader tries to figure
out the mystery. And again, an added bonus
to the book was all the descriptions of the
great locations for recreation and food and
shopping in Boulder. A good mystery story,
characters that I made a connection with and
locations that I wanted to visit, what else can
you ask for from a book?
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