Jenifer Kanin

This book was gifted to me by the author to review it. And my review will be 100% honest to what I think and feel after reading the book.

I liked the premise. An animal dressing up as other animals to steal food? Great concept! And I thought the final reveal of Who-Dun-It was set up quite well. But I'm going to be honest, it took a while to get into the book. I think part of my issue is I didn't know when everything was taking place. The book opens with a very dramatic hook, which was a great way to get into it! But then it goes to a flashback, which is fine. But it never flashes back forward. And in addition, we're given these expose's on the humans living near the forest that hop around in time as well, which further confused me. I didn't know if the Detective's scenes were taking place before or after the Opening Hook until the main character literally interacted with the Detectives.… (més)

Unmasked by Jenifer Kanin reminded me of an adult version of The Wind in the Willows or Frog & Toad, not only because of the animals talking and acting like humans, even down to indoor plumbing, but because of the life lessons woven throughout the book.

It took me a bit to get into the flow of the book since the chapter jumps felt very abrupt to me. When I finished the first chapter and started the second, I turned the page back twice to make sure I hadn’t missed something.

The story is told by three different sets of characters; Gary and his bunny friend, the two detectives who are a fox and a chipmunk, and various humans. Although there is the mystery of who is killing various animals in the neighborhood, I felt that it took a back seat to Gary coming to terms with his life, including alcoholism and abuse in his family, and all the other life lessons that were in the book.

If you are looking for a sweet story with character growth and a happy ending, then Unmasked by Jenifer Kanin may be for you!… (més)