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threecollie's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so much fun! I need to find and reread the rest of the series. Jacqueline is a delightful heroine.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A fine mystery, although lacking the utter hilarity of "Die for Love" (to which it is a sequel). Which is not to say it doesn't have some pretty funny moments, and of course Jacqueline is divine, but it's quite a different sort of book, and one which, while it may be technically 'a better book', I don't reread as often.
holl3640's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
tsenko2's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books, but an intriguing mystery that kept me in suspense until the end. I guessed a few parts, but not all. Tongue in cheek delivery of the denouement. The lead character is a strong, intelligent woman but sarcastic, not necessarily funny. I didn’t really warm up to her enough to want to read the other books in the series.
Aficionados of the Bronte sisters will enjoy the references to their writing, especially their early works. And the opening scene with Jacqueline and her male editor, trading quips about Alcott, Ingalls Wilder, and Dickinson is Elizabeth Peters at her priceless best. Erudite, funny, and promoting the charm of being an individual.
Aficionados of the Bronte sisters will enjoy the references to their writing, especially their early works. And the opening scene with Jacqueline and her male editor, trading quips about Alcott, Ingalls Wilder, and Dickinson is Elizabeth Peters at her priceless best. Erudite, funny, and promoting the charm of being an individual.
trudecal's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this one more than I thought I was going to. The main character was much more interesting to me this time around, and the pacing was done masterfully. A fun mystery with fantastic pokes at the publishing industry that still ring true today.
hollie313's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Addiction, Body shaming, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Death, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy
CW: fatphobia, elderly dementia, dated disability language, and speculation of possible suicide, the child death is mentioned briefly as occurring in the past. I had read this years ago and remember enjoying it because of all the Bronte references and writing "shop talk." I definitely did not enjoy it nearly as much this time around. The Bronte references were a lot fewer than I remembered, which was disappointing. Jacqueline can be an annoying and smug character. The mystery is interesting (I remembered being surprised the first time around), but this is not one of Peters' better works. The way that Peters has Jacqueline think about the disabled character feels dated, and the fatphobia is glaringly bad. There are also smarmy men who would use sexually harass women if they could, and at least two cheating men (and one woman), so the characters aren't super likable, with a few minor exceptions. Not entirely surprising in a mystery, but Peters's books are often more amusing than this one was. Lowered the rating because of the fatphobia and the disability rep, which another reviewer described as weird, and I agree with that.sjgochenour's review against another edition
4.0
The most complex of the Jacqueline Kirby novels, both emotionally and plot-wise. Deeply engrossing, though I find Jacqueling the most uncomfortable of Peters' heroines.
Some weird disability rep, and the disabled woman is violently murdered.
Some weird disability rep, and the disabled woman is violently murdered.
kathrynamonett's review against another edition
3.0
Better whodunnit than the last, but soooo much fat-shaming. It was so blatant that every time it happened, it completely took me out of the story.
scorpstar77's review against another edition
4.0
I downloaded this as an audiobook when I had an Audible.com subscription because...well, I don't remember why I chose it, exactly. Mystery novels are absolutely my personal guilty bookish pleasure, so it's not a stretch to imagine that someone recommended it to me and I picked it up for that reason. Regardless, I greatly enjoyed it. Plot summary: Jacqueline Kirby, loud-mouthed, brash, fearless, hilarious, best-selling romance author, needs a vacation from the publishing biz. Unfortunately, she's also out of money. So when she hears about the opportunity to write a sequel to one of the best-selling books of all time, which also happens to be one of her favorite books ever written, she jumps at it. The book's author, Kathleen Darcy, disappeared in the middle of nowhere seven years ago, and she's now presumed dead. Her family is interviewing candidates to write the sequel, and Jacqueline very much wants to get the job. The more she pokes around in their family business, however, the more certain she is that one of them wanted Kathleen dead - and she's determined to get to the bottom of that particular mystery.
This was a fun, fast, entertaining story. The actor who reads the book captures Jacqueline Kirby PERFECTLY, which made the audiobook that much more enjoyable. I believe that this is the second or third Jacqueline Kirby book, and I definitely want to read the others in the series after experiencing this one. When I mentioned on Facebook that I'd read it, one of my friends said she liked to describe Elizabeth Peters's books as a peanut M&M - candy-coated chocolate with a nugget of protein in the center. I think that's a dead-on description. It is a fun, fluffy, cozy mystery story, but there's something weighty about it. It's well-written, and I can tell Peters is a smart woman.
This was a fun, fast, entertaining story. The actor who reads the book captures Jacqueline Kirby PERFECTLY, which made the audiobook that much more enjoyable. I believe that this is the second or third Jacqueline Kirby book, and I definitely want to read the others in the series after experiencing this one. When I mentioned on Facebook that I'd read it, one of my friends said she liked to describe Elizabeth Peters's books as a peanut M&M - candy-coated chocolate with a nugget of protein in the center. I think that's a dead-on description. It is a fun, fluffy, cozy mystery story, but there's something weighty about it. It's well-written, and I can tell Peters is a smart woman.