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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
What is queued up as a Knives-Out-esque mystery thriller ended up being more of an Eat Pray Love sort of situation.
Freya has been out of the Antique Hunting business for over twenty years after the betrayal of her mentor. However, when that mentor dies, she gets back on the hunt at a turning point in her life. Now forty-something, with her daughter off at school and ex-husband selling their house, she turns her mind to the mystery in front of her - who killed her mentor and why is he posthumously sending her and her aunt to an antique retreat in the country?
The premise enticed me, but the execution was messy. With disjointed sentences and a repetitive inner narrative, I dragged myself through the first half of this book. The turning point wasn't even something I really cared about by the time I got to it because one of the more impactful things hadn't even been mentioned until that moment. There was an air of mystery around it, but the moment didn't hit me in the way I think it was intended to.
The different perspectives really didn't lend much to the progression of the story, and as a result the plot felt stilted, even as the pace picked up in the second half. I'm very curious about the intentions behind adding the other characters' POVs because the value just wasn't there for me.
One thing I do appreciate is the fact that this book really was saying that life doesn't end after XYZ happens. Freya's daughter leaving for college, Freya losing her house; she was so morose over these events at the start of the story, but we see her tackle the mystery with renewed vigor as the story progressed. I don't think enough stories do this, so it was nice to see her getting on with her own life and rediscovering herself. That being said, I did find her own feelings about the events of her life overshadowed any of the mystery's fun and excitement. She was like a wet blanket over her own story, which is what gave it that soul-searching quality that was not quite what I'd signed up for.
At the end of the day, I can't say I was super invested in the mystery or in Freya's life. The writing being messy, repetivie, and disjointed didn't help my reading experience either. My hope is that the final version that sees the light of day is more polished and snappy, but we shall see I guess.
TW: death, murder, gun violence, blood, injury detail, alcohol; mentions fire, fire injury, death of parents; domestic abuse
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Pacing: 1/5
Overall: 2/5
eARC gifted via NetGalley by Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Freya has been out of the Antique Hunting business for over twenty years after the betrayal of her mentor. However, when that mentor dies, she gets back on the hunt at a turning point in her life. Now forty-something, with her daughter off at school and ex-husband selling their house, she turns her mind to the mystery in front of her - who killed her mentor and why is he posthumously sending her and her aunt to an antique retreat in the country?
The premise enticed me, but the execution was messy. With disjointed sentences and a repetitive inner narrative, I dragged myself through the first half of this book. The turning point wasn't even something I really cared about by the time I got to it because one of the more impactful things hadn't even been mentioned until that moment. There was an air of mystery around it, but the moment didn't hit me in the way I think it was intended to.
The different perspectives really didn't lend much to the progression of the story, and as a result the plot felt stilted, even as the pace picked up in the second half. I'm very curious about the intentions behind adding the other characters' POVs because the value just wasn't there for me.
One thing I do appreciate is the fact that this book really was saying that life doesn't end after XYZ happens. Freya's daughter leaving for college, Freya losing her house; she was so morose over these events at the start of the story, but we see her tackle the mystery with renewed vigor as the story progressed. I don't think enough stories do this, so it was nice to see her getting on with her own life and rediscovering herself. That being said, I did find her own feelings about the events of her life overshadowed any of the mystery's fun and excitement. She was like a wet blanket over her own story, which is what gave it that soul-searching quality that was not quite what I'd signed up for.
At the end of the day, I can't say I was super invested in the mystery or in Freya's life. The writing being messy, repetivie, and disjointed didn't help my reading experience either. My hope is that the final version that sees the light of day is more polished and snappy, but we shall see I guess.
TW: death, murder, gun violence, blood, injury detail, alcohol; mentions fire, fire injury, death of parents; domestic abuse
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Pacing: 1/5
Overall: 2/5
eARC gifted via NetGalley by Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
chalkletters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller follows Freya Lockwood, divorced mom and former antique hunter, as she investigates the death of her former mentor.
While the mystery set-up was interesting, the book dragged out too much and suffered from an overabundance of point-of-view chapters. I found the head-hopping unnecessary since it pulled us away from Freya and didn't give us any good information that Freya didn't figure out on her own. Some of the surprise identities were rather obvious if you took a moment to think about them and why they would be included in the way they were.
I also found the huge time gap between the events in Cairo and the current timeline too large. It made a lot of things feel disconnected and made me question why characters waited so long to deal with things.
I did like Freya and her path to rediscovering her old, confident self. Her emotionally abusive ex wasn't really handled, but it wasn't mishandled. I just wish there was more straight on acknowledgement, or if that had been excised.
There's also a really forced romantic sub-subplot that an uninvolved character was pushing for, so it felt underdeveloped and more annoying. It might be developed more in future books (since this is set up to be the start of a series), but I just wasn't feeling it.
So, overall, although the premise was good, the writing style and pacing really brought this one down.
Rating: 2/5
*I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
#theantiquehuntersguidetomurder #clmiller #mystery #bookreview
While the mystery set-up was interesting, the book dragged out too much and suffered from an overabundance of point-of-view chapters. I found the head-hopping unnecessary since it pulled us away from Freya and didn't give us any good information that Freya didn't figure out on her own. Some of the surprise identities were rather obvious if you took a moment to think about them and why they would be included in the way they were.
I also found the huge time gap between the events in Cairo and the current timeline too large. It made a lot of things feel disconnected and made me question why characters waited so long to deal with things.
I did like Freya and her path to rediscovering her old, confident self. Her emotionally abusive ex wasn't really handled, but it wasn't mishandled. I just wish there was more straight on acknowledgement, or if that had been excised.
There's also a really forced romantic sub-subplot that an uninvolved character was pushing for, so it felt underdeveloped and more annoying. It might be developed more in future books (since this is set up to be the start of a series), but I just wasn't feeling it.
So, overall, although the premise was good, the writing style and pacing really brought this one down.
Rating: 2/5
*I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
#theantiquehuntersguidetomurder #clmiller #mystery #bookreview
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Murder
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