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the_sassy_bookworm's review
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it quite a lot. My feelings stayed the same with this one. It had laugh out loud moments. Plenty of twist and turns. An intriguing plot that kept me guessing. An atmospheric setting, and enjoyable characters! I look forward to seeing what these ladies get up to in the next book!
**ARC Via NetGalley**
I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it quite a lot. My feelings stayed the same with this one. It had laugh out loud moments. Plenty of twist and turns. An intriguing plot that kept me guessing. An atmospheric setting, and enjoyable characters! I look forward to seeing what these ladies get up to in the next book!
**ARC Via NetGalley**
recapturing_themagic's review
I really did not like the characters and just couldn't get interested in it. It was slow paced and drawn out.
tightgenes's review
3.0
ARC from Netgalley
This is the third book in a series, but it felt readable as a standalone for someone who hasn't read the other two. I thought this was a fun, twisty murder mystery that really got going in the second half of the book. There were several times reading this that I was certain I had figured it out, but ended up totally wrong.
Most of the characters in this book were pretty unlikeable, including the main group of women who are in each book, so I didn't feel particularly attached to anyone. The group of villagers who are being murdered and being investigated for murder were almost entirely awful people, so at a certain point I didn't care who kicked the bucket I just wanted to find out who did it.
This is the third book in a series, but it felt readable as a standalone for someone who hasn't read the other two. I thought this was a fun, twisty murder mystery that really got going in the second half of the book. There were several times reading this that I was certain I had figured it out, but ended up totally wrong.
Most of the characters in this book were pretty unlikeable, including the main group of women who are in each book, so I didn't feel particularly attached to anyone. The group of villagers who are being murdered and being investigated for murder were almost entirely awful people, so at a certain point I didn't care who kicked the bucket I just wanted to find out who did it.
beledit's review
3.0
Light and entertaining cozy mystery set in a spooky old castle.
Although set in a decidedly 21st century context, there are shades of Agatha Christie with a hint of P.G. Wodehouse. Or do I mean E.F. Benson? The humour is sharp-edged, bitchy and funny. People die, nobody much cares as they muddle towards the final scene where the identity of the killer is revealed.
For all this, Dowd has her own voice and writes well. I enjoyed the first book in the series rather more than this, but the series holds promise, with interesting characters and nice pacing.
It's a good read.
Although set in a decidedly 21st century context, there are shades of Agatha Christie with a hint of P.G. Wodehouse. Or do I mean E.F. Benson? The humour is sharp-edged, bitchy and funny. People die, nobody much cares as they muddle towards the final scene where the identity of the killer is revealed.
For all this, Dowd has her own voice and writes well. I enjoyed the first book in the series rather more than this, but the series holds promise, with interesting characters and nice pacing.
It's a good read.
acton's review
2.0
The Supper Club Murders, by Victoria Dowd, is a zany, tongue-in-cheek murder mystery.
Writing comedy is a difficult thing to do, and since this novel is set in England, it is possible that some of the humor washed over my American head. There were some funny moments, though, and a few times I thought that the dialogue might be funnier if it were acted out.
Since I hadn't read the first books, and did not know the Smart women, I had to learn certain things about their characters along the way. Pandora and her daughter Ursula Smart are a couple of women who are so strange, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to invite them anywhere. However, the rest of the characters at this dinner party were even stranger, some of them downright mean, creepy, insane, or all three. In short, I did not care what happened to any of them. These people don't even enjoy each other.
As this dinner party progresses, we meet the joyless villagers, and hear their resentments and bickering. Some of the conversation was amusing, but I was waiting for the murder mystery, which did not begin until almost halfway through the book.
When the dead bodies are found, the plot suddenly moves faster. There are secrets learned and a mystery solved, but in the end, nothing was very surprising.
Thank you, Netgalley and Joffe Books for this interesting opportunity.
Writing comedy is a difficult thing to do, and since this novel is set in England, it is possible that some of the humor washed over my American head. There were some funny moments, though, and a few times I thought that the dialogue might be funnier if it were acted out.
Since I hadn't read the first books, and did not know the Smart women, I had to learn certain things about their characters along the way. Pandora and her daughter Ursula Smart are a couple of women who are so strange, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to invite them anywhere. However, the rest of the characters at this dinner party were even stranger, some of them downright mean, creepy, insane, or all three. In short, I did not care what happened to any of them. These people don't even enjoy each other.
As this dinner party progresses, we meet the joyless villagers, and hear their resentments and bickering. Some of the conversation was amusing, but I was waiting for the murder mystery, which did not begin until almost halfway through the book.
When the dead bodies are found, the plot suddenly moves faster. There are secrets learned and a mystery solved, but in the end, nothing was very surprising.
Thank you, Netgalley and Joffe Books for this interesting opportunity.
thenovelllama's review
4.0
The Supper Club Murders is book #3 in the Smart Woman’s mystery series. Mother and daughter, Ursula and Pandora have been invited to a supper party at the castle of Lord and Lady Black. As the pair is joined by fellow book club members, Mirabelle and Bridget, they discover that they have been invited to a safari dinner, where they will travel around the village, dining with different people from town as they go. The more progress they make on the dinner, the more tensions begin to boil over between friends, family, and townspeople. Ursula and Pandora realize that the tension reached its boiling point when they discover the first of several dead bodies.
This book was a wild ride. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but they are on my TBR list now! The imagery alone left me wanting to actually visit the village and castle. I’m a sucker for any story that involves a castle in the first place, but then adding in so many nooks, crannies, and secrets, it was wonderful. The creepy atmosphere was enhanced with the strong use of description and personification. I enjoyed that all of the description and dialog had a very conversational tone because the reader hears everything from Ursula’s point of view.
Now that I have addressed how much I enjoyed the atmosphere, lets get to the important part, the mystery. I spent most of the book wondering when it was going to pick up and have something exciting happen. I’ll admit that I got a little bored reading about all of Ursula’s complaints and pettiness. However, any of my boredom was redeemed at the end. Everything that I thought was just filler, ended up being important. The complexity of the final outcome was very fun and well done. Every time I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong. Once I realized what had actually been happening, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I love when a good mystery sticks in my mind. The last quarter of the book flew by and left me with my mouth hanging open. The ending was moving and it left me wanting more.
The only parts of the book that I struggled a bit with was the characters. Ursula drove me nuts with her negativity. She seemed to hate everything and everyone. It was so bad that she barely expressed any positivity throughout the novel, taking away some of the roundness of her character. In her defense, she was in a horrible situation, walking around in the dark and in the rain with a whole cast of unlikable people, but one would think that she would at least find someone to think of kindly. Aunt Charlotte and Verity were the characters that I enjoyed the most. I was highly amused at Aunt Charlotte’s ignorance into any sort of references (I loved the Clue call out with all my heart). I will acknowledge that I may feel differently if I had read the other books in the series (I will update when I do). There were many references to things that had happened in previous books that I had a hard time understanding. I think I would have had an easier time understanding more of the supernatural elements if I had read the other books as well. Overall, I enjoyed how much they added to the atmosphere, but I didn’t always understand how they were adding to the plot.
As a last note, there were a few scenes, especially in the beginning couple chapters where I wasn’t sure who was talking. This problem sorted itself out as the book continues, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
3.5 stars, rounded up because of how much i enjoyed the ending
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley and want to thank Joffe Books for the opportunity to read this book and find another interesting series.
This book was a wild ride. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but they are on my TBR list now! The imagery alone left me wanting to actually visit the village and castle. I’m a sucker for any story that involves a castle in the first place, but then adding in so many nooks, crannies, and secrets, it was wonderful. The creepy atmosphere was enhanced with the strong use of description and personification. I enjoyed that all of the description and dialog had a very conversational tone because the reader hears everything from Ursula’s point of view.
Now that I have addressed how much I enjoyed the atmosphere, lets get to the important part, the mystery. I spent most of the book wondering when it was going to pick up and have something exciting happen. I’ll admit that I got a little bored reading about all of Ursula’s complaints and pettiness. However, any of my boredom was redeemed at the end. Everything that I thought was just filler, ended up being important. The complexity of the final outcome was very fun and well done. Every time I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong. Once I realized what had actually been happening, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I love when a good mystery sticks in my mind. The last quarter of the book flew by and left me with my mouth hanging open. The ending was moving and it left me wanting more.
The only parts of the book that I struggled a bit with was the characters. Ursula drove me nuts with her negativity. She seemed to hate everything and everyone. It was so bad that she barely expressed any positivity throughout the novel, taking away some of the roundness of her character. In her defense, she was in a horrible situation, walking around in the dark and in the rain with a whole cast of unlikable people, but one would think that she would at least find someone to think of kindly. Aunt Charlotte and Verity were the characters that I enjoyed the most. I was highly amused at Aunt Charlotte’s ignorance into any sort of references (I loved the Clue call out with all my heart). I will acknowledge that I may feel differently if I had read the other books in the series (I will update when I do). There were many references to things that had happened in previous books that I had a hard time understanding. I think I would have had an easier time understanding more of the supernatural elements if I had read the other books as well. Overall, I enjoyed how much they added to the atmosphere, but I didn’t always understand how they were adding to the plot.
As a last note, there were a few scenes, especially in the beginning couple chapters where I wasn’t sure who was talking. This problem sorted itself out as the book continues, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
3.5 stars, rounded up because of how much i enjoyed the ending
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley and want to thank Joffe Books for the opportunity to read this book and find another interesting series.
thesassybookworm's review
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it quite a lot. My feelings stayed the same with this one. It had laugh out loud moments. Plenty of twist and turns. An intriguing plot that kept me guessing. An atmospheric setting, and enjoyable characters! I look forward to seeing what these ladies get up to in the next book!
**ARC Via NetGalley**
I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it quite a lot. My feelings stayed the same with this one. It had laugh out loud moments. Plenty of twist and turns. An intriguing plot that kept me guessing. An atmospheric setting, and enjoyable characters! I look forward to seeing what these ladies get up to in the next book!
**ARC Via NetGalley**
ssejig's review
4.0
The murder crew is back at it again. All five have been invited to a safari dinner (I know it as a progressive dinner) from a former bookclub member who is now the wife of a baron. Some people look down on Lord Black because he bought his title but it is a title nonetheless. And the safari supper will take place in the village, Greystone, surrounding their castle, Black Towers. It's a new place with some familiar characters though relationships have shifted dramatically - there is not nearly as much fighting between Ursula and her mother.
There are also new faces with some familiar names -- Scarlett Bradshaw, Joseph Greengage (a plum), Mrs. White, Reverend Vert (green), etc. And, while it is one of them that will die, one of their own will as well.
I really sort of slogged through the first book in this series (and I would still recommend reading it and the second books because they set up so much back story) but liked this one a lot. The characters are growing, infinitesimally but growing. The murder and solution aren't any less bananapants but even the new characters have depth that makes them interesting to read about.
There are also new faces with some familiar names -- Scarlett Bradshaw, Joseph Greengage (a plum), Mrs. White, Reverend Vert (green), etc. And, while it is one of them that will die, one of their own will as well.
I really sort of slogged through the first book in this series (and I would still recommend reading it and the second books because they set up so much back story) but liked this one a lot. The characters are growing, infinitesimally but growing. The murder and solution aren't any less bananapants but even the new characters have depth that makes them interesting to read about.
annarella's review
4.0
I wasn't a fan of The Smart Woman's Guide to Murder but I thoroughly enjoyed this one as it's intriguing, fast paced and full of twists.
I liked the humour and the character development. The solid mystery kept me guessing
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the humour and the character development. The solid mystery kept me guessing
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
whatischellereading's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The phones are out. The roads have flooded. There’s no way in or out. And the murders have begun.
We’re back with the Smart women and their book club! After being invited to a safari supper at Greystone Castle by their ex-book club member Lady Marsha Black the crew all find themselves plunged into a murder mystery in the dark remoteness of Dartmoor where even the pet monkey, Dupin, becomes a suspect! With so many vibrant characters, secrets aplenty and the wittiness of our favourite women, this book has everything.
I am a severe Victoria Dowd and Smart Women fan and this book did not disappoint. I love all of the characters so much, especially Aunt Charlotte! Her constant misunderstand of situations and not knowing who certain people are always makes me chuckle! There are some comedy-gold one liners throughout the book and I love that about Victoria’s novels - yeah, it’s sad someone died but here’s something hilarious too! I love the development of the characters and their relationships from the previous two books, especially between Pandora and Mirabelle.
For any lovers of a whodunnit with dynamic characters, this one is for you!
We’re back with the Smart women and their book club! After being invited to a safari supper at Greystone Castle by their ex-book club member Lady Marsha Black the crew all find themselves plunged into a murder mystery in the dark remoteness of Dartmoor where even the pet monkey, Dupin, becomes a suspect! With so many vibrant characters, secrets aplenty and the wittiness of our favourite women, this book has everything.
I am a severe Victoria Dowd and Smart Women fan and this book did not disappoint. I love all of the characters so much, especially Aunt Charlotte! Her constant misunderstand of situations and not knowing who certain people are always makes me chuckle! There are some comedy-gold one liners throughout the book and I love that about Victoria’s novels - yeah, it’s sad someone died but here’s something hilarious too! I love the development of the characters and their relationships from the previous two books, especially between Pandora and Mirabelle.
For any lovers of a whodunnit with dynamic characters, this one is for you!
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