#BookReview: The Choir Director 2: Runaway Bride - Carl Weber

If asked, I would be hard pressed to tell you whose work is more unbelievable and overly dramatic these days, Tyler Perry or Carl Weber. Both are experts at taking the far-fetched and turning it into something palatable. I’ve missed out on the last few Tyler Perry movies, but I think I can safely say that Carl Weber gives him a run for his money.

When I read The Choir Director last year, I didn’t realize it was part of a series that includes The First Lady and The Preacher’s Son. Honestly, when I picked up The Choir Director 2, I still had a hard time remembering that it was a part of a series. The characters are no more memorable than they were before. And, if possible, the story line is even more implausible.

Choir director Aaron Mackie is just about to marry church secretary Tia Gregory when she leaves him at the altar with no warning. Haunted by memories of her past, Tia feels it’s in the best interest of everyone if she disappears for a time. Cutting off her church family, she goes into detective mode and begins to hunt down the men who harmed her years earlier. While Tia is off doing God knows what, a new secretary appears on the scene. On a mission to make Aaron pay for the suffering he inflicted on her family, Desiree will stop at nothing to get her wish.

So those story lines seem simple enough, right? But they’re soooo ridiculous. We’ve got Tia hoo riding through the suburbs looking for men who victimized her; Aaron turning into a raging alcoholic and sex addict days after being left at the altar; and Desiree setting up a false business to bring Aaron down and, just in case that doesn’t work, contracting syphilis in hopes of getting a chance to sleep with Aaron and giving it to him. Sir, what???

Did I not tell you Carl Weber gives Tyler Perry a serious run for the money with this one? I loved Weber’s earlier books. Along with other male authors like Van Whitfield, Eric Jerome Dickey and Omar Tyree, to a lesser extent, he showed such promise. His stories and their characters were fully developed. Now, it seems that he’s far more interested in producing quantity over quality. It would be great to see him return to the writing style that first attracted his audiences.

304pp
Published: August 2014
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.