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amandajeanne's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hayleysbooks13's review against another edition
2.0
‘DS Eden is a perfectly capable police officer who happens to find my expert opinion valuable, so put that in your tweed f***ing Victorian pipe and smoke it.’
Right from the start, I was intrigued. It seemed to be fast paced and energetic and despite it being about murders and eyeballs, it was god damn funny! Also, I love a good map at the start of a book, so you can really picture the layout of the village.
The protagonist was Jess Castle, sorry DR. Jess Castle, and she was lovable and relatable for me. Mainly because she eats everything in sight, looks scruffy most of the time and has an interest in murders and cults. However, apart from their foreign housekeeper Bogna, I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, and there were a LOT of characters!
It was about half way through that it got confusing with too many people. I lost all interest. Due to this, I stopped reading it as much and then I’d forget parts of the storyline too. It seemed to go on forever! I’m a massive Dan Brown fan so I thought the symbols and murder elements of the story would be interesting, but I just found it confusing unfortunately.
I wanted to like this, and some people might! But it wasn’t my cup of tea.
‘A4 sheets dotted around the walls suggested, in silly handwriting fonts, that those present do what they were presumably doing already: ‘be’, proposed one; ‘live’, ‘breathe’, ‘choose’, offered others.’
Right from the start, I was intrigued. It seemed to be fast paced and energetic and despite it being about murders and eyeballs, it was god damn funny! Also, I love a good map at the start of a book, so you can really picture the layout of the village.
The protagonist was Jess Castle, sorry DR. Jess Castle, and she was lovable and relatable for me. Mainly because she eats everything in sight, looks scruffy most of the time and has an interest in murders and cults. However, apart from their foreign housekeeper Bogna, I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, and there were a LOT of characters!
It was about half way through that it got confusing with too many people. I lost all interest. Due to this, I stopped reading it as much and then I’d forget parts of the storyline too. It seemed to go on forever! I’m a massive Dan Brown fan so I thought the symbols and murder elements of the story would be interesting, but I just found it confusing unfortunately.
I wanted to like this, and some people might! But it wasn’t my cup of tea.
‘A4 sheets dotted around the walls suggested, in silly handwriting fonts, that those present do what they were presumably doing already: ‘be’, proposed one; ‘live’, ‘breathe’, ‘choose’, offered others.’
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
A great mystery, enjoyable and fun to read. I don't know how to classify it: it's not a cozy (too gruesome and the strong language), it's not a thriller (too soft) and this means it's something original and in a category of its own.
I liked the humour, lot of dark humour that make you laugh and make you think at the same time.
Jess is wonderful heroine and the cast of characters is likeable.
I loved the well researched historical and religious background, it was really interesting.
The mystery is good, keep you reading till the end and I never guessed who the culprit was.
I hope this is a series and there will be other instalments featuring this cast of characters.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC
I liked the humour, lot of dark humour that make you laugh and make you think at the same time.
Jess is wonderful heroine and the cast of characters is likeable.
I loved the well researched historical and religious background, it was really interesting.
The mystery is good, keep you reading till the end and I never guessed who the culprit was.
I hope this is a series and there will be other instalments featuring this cast of characters.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC
rabbitholereader's review against another edition
4.0
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Actual rating: 3.5⭐
"'I'm weighing up my options. In the meantime, the doc's keeping me healthy. Please don't worry, Jess.'
'When people say that,' said Jess, 'they don't care whether you worry or not. They just want you to stop talking about it.'"
Jess Castle finds herself back in the place she ran away from; home. Her home can be found in the picturesque little village of Castle Kidbury, which Jess thinks is the most boring place ever. Until there's a murder. And not only a murder; a crucifixion, something which, conveniently, taps into Jess's expertise. As she acts as the unofficial consultant to the methodical, ultimate follower of rules, DS Eden, Jess uncovers strange characters, gruesome motives, and a dangerous path to the truth.
[a:M B Vincent|17740443|M B Vincent|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is actually a married couple, which I find adorable for some reason, if I wanted to write a murder mystery with my partner it would inevitably end up having zombies in it somewhere. So I applaud them for sticking their heads together to come up with a tasteful, gripping plot, with the kind of character set you would want to meet in person.
[b:Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of Death|38745714|Jess Castle and the Eyeballs of Death|M B Vincent|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1538920595s/38745714.jpg|60334738] is a strange mixture of humour, mystery, a little grit, and some romance. It's perfect for comfy nights on the sofa, and I found solace in every genre combination thrown in.
Possibly except for the romance. The romance was a little hard to swallow; it didn't feel like Jess and Rupert developed feelings naturally, he was initially a side character who was mildly annoying until he seemed to blossom into this guy who had feelings for Jess and couldn't take his eyes off her. She still found him annoying, but ultimately, his feelings were reciprocated. It just seemed like such an unlikely romance, the author(s) didn't really delve into their background, their feelings weren't hinted at until they were convenient for the character development.
Regardless of the grisly murders being committed; the language is actually light, warm and genuinely funny. This book has been described as The Vicar of Dibley meets Midsomer Murders and I honestly couldn't describe it any better.
Although Jess seems to focus on cracking jokes, and teasing people relentlessly, she does come across as an insightful character, which is a great feat; too often authors forget that their characters have other personality traits other than funny when focusing on a comical protagonist. Jess describes herself as a "delicate weed" and I think that that is just the most apt description of the main character I could possibly have produced.
Overall, this novel was highly entertaining, with a bunch of quirky characters that enforced a fast paced, fun narrative. I'm unsure whether this book is a standalone or in a series, but I would definitely read a sequel.
Thank you to Net Galley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
samanthawattam's review against another edition
2.0
I was drawn to this book in a charity shop by its cover and intriguing title. Unfortunately this is a case of never judge a book by its cover. I can sum up my opinion in one word - disappointment.
Jess Castle or should I say Dr Jess Castle is a lecturer at Cambridge but has “run away” and returned home to Castle Kidbury, a market town in the West Country. However, she finds things have changed during her absence, her father the Judge is unwell and since her mother’s death a year ago there is a new housekeeper Bogna. As she struggles to come to terms with the changes at home a shocking murder occurs a ‘crucifixion’ of local man Keith Dike. Jess embraces the opportunity to use her academic skills to assist DS John Eden who is in charge of the case and to distract her from her bad dreams and her resentment towards her father’s change of character and the new housekeeper.
Certain elements of the story I liked how they were dealt with, such as Jess’ nightmares as the past creeps into her dreams; also the loss of her mother and how she resents the changes at home. I thought the mystery itself was interesting. I liked the characters of Jess and Rupert, Jess’ potential love interest but didn’t feel engaged in caring about them.
I found the use of bad language a little jarring and unnecessary. It is a struggle at times to like Jess’ friend Mary although there are explanations as to why she and Jess are such good friends. Their friendship makes me think of Cameron Diaz’ romantic comedies which I have always loathed.
DS Eden’s colleague Karen Knott is an incompetent police officer how on earth did she get through the entrance exam. She is not only an idiot but completely lacking in empathy or even basic common sense.
All the elements were there to make a really good mystery but it just doesn’t come together. You don’t care enough about the characters, and I also felt that the location wasn’t taken advantage of enough.
Jess Castle or should I say Dr Jess Castle is a lecturer at Cambridge but has “run away” and returned home to Castle Kidbury, a market town in the West Country. However, she finds things have changed during her absence, her father the Judge is unwell and since her mother’s death a year ago there is a new housekeeper Bogna. As she struggles to come to terms with the changes at home a shocking murder occurs a ‘crucifixion’ of local man Keith Dike. Jess embraces the opportunity to use her academic skills to assist DS John Eden who is in charge of the case and to distract her from her bad dreams and her resentment towards her father’s change of character and the new housekeeper.
Certain elements of the story I liked how they were dealt with, such as Jess’ nightmares as the past creeps into her dreams; also the loss of her mother and how she resents the changes at home. I thought the mystery itself was interesting. I liked the characters of Jess and Rupert, Jess’ potential love interest but didn’t feel engaged in caring about them.
I found the use of bad language a little jarring and unnecessary. It is a struggle at times to like Jess’ friend Mary although there are explanations as to why she and Jess are such good friends. Their friendship makes me think of Cameron Diaz’ romantic comedies which I have always loathed.
DS Eden’s colleague Karen Knott is an incompetent police officer how on earth did she get through the entrance exam. She is not only an idiot but completely lacking in empathy or even basic common sense.
All the elements were there to make a really good mystery but it just doesn’t come together. You don’t care enough about the characters, and I also felt that the location wasn’t taken advantage of enough.
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