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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
This didn't really include murder or crime as much as I expected from the authors- it was predominantly troublemaking within the festive period. It definitely was targeted to a young audience possible allowing them to slowly progress in to crime fiction. But I did like the diverse characters and their backgrounds throughout each story.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
A collection of thirteen short mystery stories edited by Robin Stevens and Serena Patel which showcase some of the work of the new wave of children's authors in the 8-12 age group. There is a lot to like here. A refreshing lack of celebrity authors, some diverse names which mean that inclusion and diversity are strong drivers in the make up of these stories and some of the stories were superb. It's a good way for a child to dip into work by authors they may not be familiar with and get a sense of whether they would like to read more work by them. I'm not a huge fan of short story collections, particularly when they are written by more than one author. I like my stories to develop over the length of a book so this didn't work for me personally.
I wanted to love this book… and I kind of did? The overall feeling was very festive and fun, Shoe-Dunnit and The Cove(n) were very well written. However, there were some mysteries I could just not get into. Overall, very sweet book I would recommend to young detectives waiting for Christmas, but not to people wanting a middle grade mystery with gripping turns and suspense.
Shoe Dunnit - 5/5
It's Snow Crime - 3/5
The Beast of Bedleywood - 3/5
The Christmas Heist - 2/5
Cool for Cats - 3/5
It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief - 4/5
The Frostwilds - 5/5
Scrabble and Murder - 5/5
The Ticking Funhouse - 5/5
Ice and Fire - 4.5/5
Silent Night - 4/5
No Piste for the Wicked - 4.5/5
The Cove(n) at Christmas - 4/5
It's Snow Crime - 3/5
The Beast of Bedleywood - 3/5
The Christmas Heist - 2/5
Cool for Cats - 3/5
It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief - 4/5
The Frostwilds - 5/5
Scrabble and Murder - 5/5
The Ticking Funhouse - 5/5
Ice and Fire - 4.5/5
Silent Night - 4/5
No Piste for the Wicked - 4.5/5
The Cove(n) at Christmas - 4/5
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thought there would be more murders but it was a nice variety of different crimes. Sometimes the stories felt like they ended really abruptly or like there was meant to be more. It was nice reading about a variety of diverse characters though as it’s not something you read very often. I liked that they were fairly quick to read and nice short stories. Would be interesting to see what they were like if they were a bit longer as the reveal came out of nowhere and you didn’t see them uncover it very much.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
🇬🇧 The stories were on a different level in terms of quality and festivity. Only some of the stories contained murder, and I would have liked more of them. Some of the stories felt like they were missing something, and I couldn't really get a hold of them. In some of them I felt like the number of pages ended a little too soon or the story had to be ended really quickly.
Fun stories, some of which you could also read as Easter approaches. 😆
🇫🇮 Tarinat olivat laadultaan ja jouluisuudessaan eri tasolla. Vain osa tarinoista sisälsi murhia, niitä olisin kaivannut enemmän. Jotkut tairinoista jäi vajaiksi, eikä niihin ihan saanut otetta. Osassa tuntui sivumäärän loppuvan hiukan kesken tai tarina lopetettiin todella nopeasti.
Hauskoja tarinoina, joista osan pystyi lukea myös hyvin näin pääsiäisen lähestyessä. 😆
(Posted on 26.3.)
Fun stories, some of which you could also read as Easter approaches. 😆
🇫🇮 Tarinat olivat laadultaan ja jouluisuudessaan eri tasolla. Vain osa tarinoista sisälsi murhia, niitä olisin kaivannut enemmän. Jotkut tairinoista jäi vajaiksi, eikä niihin ihan saanut otetta. Osassa tuntui sivumäärän loppuvan hiukan kesken tai tarina lopetettiin todella nopeasti.
Hauskoja tarinoina, joista osan pystyi lukea myös hyvin näin pääsiäisen lähestyessä. 😆
(Posted on 26.3.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Classism
Minor: Death, Blood