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twreading's review
3.0
This book was off to a really great start for a cozy mystery. I was intrigued right away by the setting, the potential crime, and the interesting characters. But then it took so long to go anywhere and there was so much time between important moments that I found myself skimming.
msbookleaf's review
2.0
Nice debut for a cozy series. Looking forward to seeing how the Molly Suttons flesh out.
nolaexpat's review
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This is the first of an 11 (?) book series, a mystery story set in France. I liked many of the characters and the mildly interesting disappearance of the art student. I disliked the frequent references to the main character's "girls" (breasts), the creepy (yet ignored by everyone) behavior of one of the characters with women and thought the ending was not very well done. Not sure that I'll read another in this series.
hmbb99's review against another edition
2.0
A cozy mystery in a quaint French village solved by a newly arrived American. The town is neatly laid out and the characters are likeable. It was very repetative at times. If Molly talked about buying croissants and gardening one more time I was going to scream. It made it seem like there was nothing else to do in town but eat, drink, garden, and gossip. I was looking for more excitement. The mystery was easy to solve as well. I liked the book but I didn't love it.
chanteld's review against another edition
2.0
This is my first Nell Goddin novel and the story's premise was good and was set up to be a cozy mystery. I have always enjoyed these stories even if they are formulaic but somehow this first Molly Sutton mystery fell flat. Molly is new to Castiallac and for an American expat living alone in France Molly's attitude and actions felt false. She seems far removed from the actions of investigation and instead the police officers were far more keen on solving the mystery. This was also told from multiple POVs, featuring Molly, the detectives and also flashback scenes from a view characters. The mystery of it all was slow to wrap up and unlike other cozy mysteries the reader isn't given enough clues to help the main amatuer sleuth crack the case.
There are also several instances where the story line gets chopped. As a reader there are exceptions of certain interactions to play out but instead these are not shared and only brief synopsis are given from snippets of community gossip.
I like the little community and I may read book two in the series. Nell Goddin has a good idea to work with so maybe the series and Molly's investigative skills and intuition improved in book two.
There are also several instances where the story line gets chopped. As a reader there are exceptions of certain interactions to play out but instead these are not shared and only brief synopsis are given from snippets of community gossip.
I like the little community and I may read book two in the series. Nell Goddin has a good idea to work with so maybe the series and Molly's investigative skills and intuition improved in book two.
jenjefferson515's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tobyyy's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Becket Royce.
It was... not great. There was a lot of times when suspension of disbelief was broken because of things like — how quickly Molly settled into an insular small town in France (the type of place where you can be an outsider even if you’ve lived there for 30 years). Being asked to translate for the chief of police despite only having rudimentary schoolgirl French at her disposal. The list goes on and on.
The climax of the story was interrupted too, which was... disappointing. And aggravating. No climax in a murder mystery leaves it feels dull and flat.
Ugh. Overall — do not recommend for reading or listening. It helped pass the time and kept my interest for the most part (even when I became annoyed) but in terms of a quality tale, well, it’s just... not. It had promise and I think if the author works a bit more at polishing her stuff, she could write a good story. But this one just fell flat.
It was... not great. There was a lot of times when suspension of disbelief was broken because of things like — how quickly Molly settled into an insular small town in France (the type of place where you can be an outsider even if you’ve lived there for 30 years). Being asked to translate for the chief of police despite only having rudimentary schoolgirl French at her disposal. The list goes on and on.
The climax of the story was interrupted too, which was... disappointing. And aggravating. No climax in a murder mystery leaves it feels dull and flat.
Ugh. Overall — do not recommend for reading or listening. It helped pass the time and kept my interest for the most part (even when I became annoyed) but in terms of a quality tale, well, it’s just... not. It had promise and I think if the author works a bit more at polishing her stuff, she could write a good story. But this one just fell flat.
ngb1980's review against another edition
3.0
I got lost somewhere or something. I'm not even sure why the book is called "The Third Girl". I pegged the murderer fairly early in the book and some things weren't explained in the book. Like why did the murdered girls parents disappear? There was no mention of their return or why they had left.
hasselblad's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0