by Brittney (link)
Genre drama, mystery/thriller, romance
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate, Zac/OFC
Length 13 chapters
Status Completed
Aside from myself, Brittney is one of the most prolific hanfic authors of recent years. Most of her stories were firmly in the romance genre, with a few exceptions, most of which she didn’t finish. Under Dust Painted Skies was completed, thankfully, and while romance does play a bit part in it, the more conventional mystery plot makes up the biggest part of the story, and proves Brittney isn’t just a chick lit author.
The story begins with what seems like an unnecessary flashback dream, but I think it’s preferable to spending a lot of time on exposition to explain what happened to Kate. There’s still a fair bit of exposition in the lengthy first chapter, but there’s just enough action interspersed with it that it doesn’t get too bogged down. Some might not like how lengthy Brittney’s chapters are, but as the story goes on, it’s clear how much of the groundwork she’s laying for the rest of the plot, groundwork that can slip by unnoticed or ping your radar but not quite make sense until later.
The dreams and clues eventually start to hit the reader, and Zac, in the face with their obviousness. Had they continued for longer before Zac realized what they meant, I would have thought they were too cheesy, but they work. Speaking of cheesy, there are bits of the story’s climax that don’t quite ring true but which are typical of murder mystery stories. What sort of thriller would Under Dust Painted Skies be if the killer didn’t confess right before attempting to kill the one person who knows his secret, after all? Despite that cheesiness, it is a good story. Zac’s agoraphobia is portrayed realistically and the romance plot happens naturally in the background, with neither the agoraphobia nor the murder mystery plot totally dominating, making for a nice balanced story that isn’t quite a cozy but isn’t a gore-fest, either. All I could recommend to improve this story is a little editing for those annoying little typos; otherwise, Under Dust Painted Skies is as perfect and complete a little story as I could have asked for, but that’s no surprise coming from Brittney.
Review by Bethany (website)