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cabbie13's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rosemaryandrue's review
3.0
All is not well in Brighton. Inspector Steine has a criminally insane murderer of policemen after him, a visiting professor has been murdered at a department store, and worse, Mrs Groynes, charlady and gang leader, has been booted from the police department by the new police secretary.
This book is utterly hilarious and made me laugh out loud quite a bit. The characters are endearing though rather bumbling - as the reader is told more or less from the beginning who the villains are, I did spend a lot of time wondering how the twain would meet! There were some really hilarious sequences and asides that I enjoyed, such as the relationship between the governor of Broadmoor and his 'Carlotta'.
Though the author does a good job explaining events of the previous books, this one's plot heavily relies on characters introduced before, so it was a bit of a tricky read at times. I did also think that the plot might have been too complex for the length of the book - consequently, events like the professor's murder get short shrift.
Ultimately an enjoyable darkly comic romp, perhaps more for fans of comedy than of mysteries.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This book is utterly hilarious and made me laugh out loud quite a bit. The characters are endearing though rather bumbling - as the reader is told more or less from the beginning who the villains are, I did spend a lot of time wondering how the twain would meet! There were some really hilarious sequences and asides that I enjoyed, such as the relationship between the governor of Broadmoor and his 'Carlotta'.
Though the author does a good job explaining events of the previous books, this one's plot heavily relies on characters introduced before, so it was a bit of a tricky read at times. I did also think that the plot might have been too complex for the length of the book - consequently, events like the professor's murder get short shrift.
Ultimately an enjoyable darkly comic romp, perhaps more for fans of comedy than of mysteries.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
faysieh's review
5.0
I fear there are no further plans to write any more in the Constable Twitten series.
This is flaming awful news (to use Sergeant James Brunswick's favourite adjective), and to quote Constable Peregrine Twitten himself, "Bally awful."
I have loved all 4 books in the series. The style of writing and humour appealed to me immensely.
This is flaming awful news (to use Sergeant James Brunswick's favourite adjective), and to quote Constable Peregrine Twitten himself, "Bally awful."
I have loved all 4 books in the series. The style of writing and humour appealed to me immensely.
vsbedford's review
5.0
Another very fun read in the series in which major threads from the previous three novels come together in a satisfying incident in which French onion sellers play a pivotal role! Ms. Truss's writing continues to delight me, and she can craft a multilevel criminal endeavor with the best of them. A super strong recommend, as the series goes from strength to strength, but could be slightly confusing (or maybe not?) if the reader is visiting Constable Twitten's Brighton for the first time.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
nichola's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
So closer to a 3.5 but this was as always fun.
Funnily enough I find this series quite comforting to read. This has been a bad week and this really helped. It isn't the best piece of detective fiction. But it is fun! And some of the characters are quite frankly some of the funniest people I have read in a long time. Just a piece of overall fun!
Funnily enough I find this series quite comforting to read. This has been a bad week and this really helped. It isn't the best piece of detective fiction. But it is fun! And some of the characters are quite frankly some of the funniest people I have read in a long time. Just a piece of overall fun!
mayar_reading_stuff's review
5.0
#A Book That Sparks Joy
The only problem with loving a series that isn't extremely popular is that it's so hard to find (In audio, that is. Most libraries have the ebook but the audiobook is so good.)
Finally, after about a year of waiting, I got my hands on the audio version!
Was it worth the wait? yes.
Did I love this? Also yes.
Am I scared of the possibility of me not being able to read the next book? Y. E. S.
I also appreciate the nod to the hidden persuaders. I'm probably going to read it just because it was featured here.
While I don't think this is my favourite installment, it's still pretty good.
The only problem with loving a series that isn't extremely popular is that it's so hard to find (In audio, that is. Most libraries have the ebook but the audiobook is so good.)
Finally, after about a year of waiting, I got my hands on the audio version!
Was it worth the wait? yes.
Did I love this? Also yes.
Am I scared of the possibility of me not being able to read the next book? Y. E. S.
I also appreciate the nod to the hidden persuaders. I'm probably going to read it just because it was featured here.
While I don't think this is my favourite installment, it's still pretty good.
trippyotter's review
challenging
slow-paced
3.0
This was a hard read for me and I'm torn on how I should rank the book. If I could write a review without rating it I would.
It's not my usual style of reading, but it seemed so interesting (and that title!) I wanted to give it a go.
The flash point of view was a bit problematic as there were no less 10 persons giving their perspective and that's not including the omni narrative that would give glimpses into the future.
The omni narrative was the part I disliked the most as it gave away plot points instead of allowing the characters or readers to naturally come to them. I don't even think I was ten pages in when this happened from the first time.
The complexity of the plot was amazing thought, the amount of time and detail spent on the mystery was great.
It's just everything else I'm struggling with.
It's not my usual style of reading, but it seemed so interesting (and that title!) I wanted to give it a go.
The flash point of view was a bit problematic as there were no less 10 persons giving their perspective and that's not including the omni narrative that would give glimpses into the future.
The omni narrative was the part I disliked the most as it gave away plot points instead of allowing the characters or readers to naturally come to them. I don't even think I was ten pages in when this happened from the first time.
The complexity of the plot was amazing thought, the amount of time and detail spent on the mystery was great.
It's just everything else I'm struggling with.
eswee's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
This is a funny historical detective, set in the late 1950's. I also found it rather chaotic though, but it was hard to put down and I read it in less than a day. I don't think I will read the rest of this series, but it was fun to try it out once.