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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I don't see anything about a sequel, but the ending makes it seem like there should be one.
Flawed, relatable characters. I especially rooted for Jo as she fumbled her way through conversations, blurting random facts and missing social clues. Solid mystery that unravels as expected, and plenty of character development.
Flawed, relatable characters. I especially rooted for Jo as she fumbled her way through conversations, blurting random facts and missing social clues. Solid mystery that unravels as expected, and plenty of character development.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book description is a bit deceiving. I thought this was a murder mystery where the main character helps the detective with a side of romantic tension. There is a murder, but the detective looks into that. The main character ends up not being very main character - like for a good portion of the book while she traces family history. I skimmed a significant part.
The murderer was pretty obvious mostly due to the limited number of characters.
The murderer was pretty obvious mostly due to the limited number of characters.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
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:
Yes
It’s an old fashioned gothic mystic page turner of a novel and I highly recommend it. Can’t wait for the sequel!
I simply loved this book and finished it in know time.
It’s wonderful to read a book written by an autistic person from that point of view. The internal experiences that Jo has felt so real and also the misunderstandings from the outside perspective.
I simply loved this book and finished it in know time.
It’s wonderful to read a book written by an autistic person from that point of view. The internal experiences that Jo has felt so real and also the misunderstandings from the outside perspective.
The publisher did no favors for the reader with this description. Still a lovely read.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
Everyone has to be special these days, so the main character in this very standard mystery is "on the spectrum." Jo Jones is your typical American character who inherits a British mansion when her mysterious mother dies. Of course, she shows up there because she has nothing else to do, and quickly finds a body. There's a missing painting that also leads to the second mystery in the story.
It's not bad, it's just standard. A simple read.
It's not bad, it's just standard. A simple read.
Interestingly framed but ultimately not entirely satisfying, this does raise the issue of how various women were framed, in various interpretations of "framed."
I think a little more focus on character would have helped, as there were several times I heard a name and asked myself, "who?"
Do be warned that the solution isn't complete. Questions are left hanging, suggesting a sequel is in the works.
The autistic protagonist, Jo, is fairly well written. Be warned that she has internalized her mother's criticism of her neurodiversity, so that can be an upsetting aspect of her internal monologue. But she's smart, likeable, engaging, interesting, and multifaceted. And yes, the author is autistic so this comes from an authentic point of view.
Jo is very quiet at the end, but I don't think that's another case of the lack of visible emoting we're given to understand is due to her autism (or to her mom's constant criticism growing up) and causes others to think she's without feeling. We get enough of her internal monologue, throughout, to understand her strong feelings on many subjects. It seems that in the end, the reader just isn't let in to share the powerful emotions and ideas and jangling of clashing possibilities that ought to be occupying her mind.
Also be warned that the plot involves some difficult family relationships.
The title sets up the expectation that Jo herself will be framed for the fox guy's murder, but that doesn't really play out strongly. At most, we could say that people frame her in their minds in various ways, as, for example, a rude American, or unemotional.
In the end, we are pretty much shut out of Jo's emotions and conjectures as she's taking in the fact that her relatives, a man and/or his wife, either murdered her sister who was his lover, or killed her inadvertently by medical neglect, then hid the evidence including her corpse.
As a single woman, in that time, dependent on her sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn was extremely vulnerable and exploitable. Even without her death, that he was using her, cheating on his wife with her, even if they considered it "love," was damning enough. What kind of love fails to provide social acceptance, let alone decent medical care? Add to that her burial in the cellar, and their flitting to America, and it's pretty disgusting.
Then there's the mystery of her infant, either unborn or stillborn or...? No little corpse was found, as yet. Was it buried separately from its mother? Disposed of in some other way? Or was a live child put up for adoption, abandoned, or taken along on the flit to America? I expected the answer to be revealed and was disappointed at the loose thread.
I guess we wait for the probable sequel to find out whether certain mysteries will be resolved to our satisfaction.
I think a little more focus on character would have helped, as there were several times I heard a name and asked myself, "who?"
Do be warned that the solution isn't complete. Questions are left hanging, suggesting a sequel is in the works.
The autistic protagonist, Jo, is fairly well written. Be warned that she has internalized her mother's criticism of her neurodiversity, so that can be an upsetting aspect of her internal monologue. But she's smart, likeable, engaging, interesting, and multifaceted. And yes, the author is autistic so this comes from an authentic point of view.
Jo is very quiet at the end, but I don't think that's another case of the lack of visible emoting we're given to understand is due to her autism (or to her mom's constant criticism growing up) and causes others to think she's without feeling. We get enough of her internal monologue, throughout, to understand her strong feelings on many subjects. It seems that in the end, the reader just isn't let in to share the powerful emotions and ideas and jangling of clashing possibilities that ought to be occupying her mind.
Also be warned that the plot involves some difficult family relationships.
Spoiler
The title sets up the expectation that Jo herself will be framed for the fox guy's murder, but that doesn't really play out strongly. At most, we could say that people frame her in their minds in various ways, as, for example, a rude American, or unemotional.
In the end, we are pretty much shut out of Jo's emotions and conjectures as she's taking in the fact that her relatives, a man and/or his wife, either murdered her sister who was his lover, or killed her inadvertently by medical neglect, then hid the evidence including her corpse.
As a single woman, in that time, dependent on her sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn was extremely vulnerable and exploitable. Even without her death, that he was using her, cheating on his wife with her, even if they considered it "love," was damning enough. What kind of love fails to provide social acceptance, let alone decent medical care? Add to that her burial in the cellar, and their flitting to America, and it's pretty disgusting.
Then there's the mystery of her infant, either unborn or stillborn or...? No little corpse was found, as yet. Was it buried separately from its mother? Disposed of in some other way? Or was a live child put up for adoption, abandoned, or taken along on the flit to America? I expected the answer to be revealed and was disappointed at the loose thread.
I guess we wait for the probable sequel to find out whether certain mysteries will be resolved to our satisfaction.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
I really liked Jo, but I found the actual mystery confusing.