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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I really really liked Blanche and her whole style. She was awesome as a protagonist. I didn't really like the ending though. Not who the murderer was, that was fine and I was rooting for that. But how it was revealed rubbed me the wrong way, it seemed too easy. But on the way there, we got a really awesome plot twist, which I didn't guess in advance! A bit of a mixed bag in the end. The prose was really beautiful though, and the country house in which the book is set is almost another character.
“He was a rich white male. Being in possession of that particular set of characteristics meant a person could do pretty much anything he wanted to do, to pretty much anybody he chose. Like an untrained dog, chewing and shitting all over the place. Blanche was sure having all that power made many men crazy.” [Barbara Neely, 1992]
Well, I’m glad THAT has changed in the intervening 28 years! (Sigh.)
The audiobook is very well done. This is a fresh take on the “domestic servant who no one takes seriously solves all the crimes” format with a Southern racial backdrop. Blanche is complicated and not as blandly good as most main characters in books like these.
Well, I’m glad THAT has changed in the intervening 28 years! (Sigh.)
The audiobook is very well done. This is a fresh take on the “domestic servant who no one takes seriously solves all the crimes” format with a Southern racial backdrop. Blanche is complicated and not as blandly good as most main characters in books like these.
funny
mysterious
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
I hate to mark this book as did not finish, but I'm so glad I did. It is well written and there is an interesting story. The problem was that the book made me feel uncomfortable. I had to think long and hard about why that was. I finally realized Blanche's fear, discomfort and mistrust of white people resonated with me because of emotional abuse that I have experienced. This kept me from enjoying the book, so I abandoned it. It was a relief when I put it down!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
A little slow at first but the masterful writing and brilliant denouncement had me absorbed until the very end
Poorly paced plot and too much buildup. Halfway into the book the murder still hadn’t occurred. Not that interesting overall.
Murder doesn’t happen until just over half way through the book. Slow. Mystery not all that exciting. Kind of predictable.
I was thinking I didn’t like reading cozy mysteries then this series was recommended and realized it was just the ones I was reading were not good. lol This series is great and I can’t wait to continue on. I loved Blanche as a main character and the supporting characters were all well fleshed out and interesting. It was heart warming and funny and entertaining. Highly recommend!
1 star. I did not like this book at all. I did not like the characters, the plot, or the writing style. I did come to have respect and some understanding of Blanche, but not enough to redeem the story for me. Would have quit reading, but this is for a cozy book club I'm in and I wanted to finish.