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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Add Auntie Poldi to your list of slightly past middle-aged lady badasses. She's smart, funny, and sexier than the world expects her to be. The writing is clever, the characters well-developed, the twists unexpected. Already downloaded book two.
Oh, I love Poldi! And I mostly liked the story, but I just can't do first person writing. (Have you ever seen that done well in fiction?) It's mostly in third person, but goes back and forth which is annoying and, in my opinion, doesn't add to the story. Otherwise, a super fun summer read.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aunt Poldi is a firecracker! Old, but not too old, witty, sharp, spicy, sensual, vivacious - she is everything I hope to be when I retire. This book reads as part Tall Tale, part whodunnit. We experience the story through Aunt Poldi's nephew's narration, as he recalls the story being told to him by Aunt Poldi herself. The storytelling aspect of the narration really lent itself well to the bigness of Aunt Poldi's character and is one thing I appreciated about the book. While I truly enjoyed living in Aunt Poldi's world for a while the actual mystery plot of this book fell flat and I found I really didn't care how the story turned out. I'd still love to visit Aunt Poldi again some time, preferrably while on vacation with a drink in hand.
I wanted to love this book so much-- from the cover to the premise, I thought it would be fantastic. But somehow it simply twisted, turned and fell flat. It made me work so hard that it took the fun out of reading it. I am not sure if it is the author's style, the translation or simply the German-Sicilian aspects that made it so cumbersome. Brava Poldi but get a better editor!
It's a fun, page turner type of book. I'll keep reading the series, for sure.
If I had to read one more sentence that started "My Auntie Poldi" ... I think this would have been a lot better read if Giordano had just stuck with plain old standard third person. Preempting scenes as if he was there, witnessing/hearing it got to be distracting and annoying.
The gist of the story is "my auntie Poldi" interferes with the police as she tries to solve a mystery she is involved with. There is an attraction between her and the main investigator, friction between another and the perpetrator makes attempts on her life.
I really tried.
The gist of the story is "my auntie Poldi" interferes with the police as she tries to solve a mystery she is involved with. There is an attraction between her and the main investigator, friction between another and the perpetrator makes attempts on her life.
I really tried.
Clever, humorous addition to the cozy genre. I loved the structure with the nephew narrating and interjecting, the personification of death and the "insignificant detail," and the audacious, yet sympathetic amateur detective. I'm surprised that this doesn't have higher ratings. The audio was delightful and perhaps helped draw the humor and timing from the page. (Matt Addis)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes