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yvettekeller's review
3.0
This book, and this series (and maybe this author), are not for me. They could be for you if you like evenly-paced, standard mysteries, with lots of characters, tangential subplots, and running around in New Orleans. This book reads like a superfast montage of sequences, not a carefully plotted mystery with rising action, revelations that build tension, and a conclusion.
What Didn't Work For Me
Many authors use quirks to build their characters, but Franki Amato doesn't have a few quirks; a bunch of quirks pooled their savings to buy a name. As a result, these books are repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. The same reactions, scenes, and stories happen over and over and over (and over). Franki is aggravating to read about because she isn't just involved in the usual romance trope of obvious misunderstandings, the common mystery trope of threatening detectives, and (special to this series) the interfering Italian relatives. Nooooo. Again our main prude reacts so strongly to her stripper landlady and the drag queens, prostitutes, and pimps involved in her case, that nearly every scene involves exclaiming over this-or-that skimpy outfit, boobs, or boudoir decor. Tedious after a few times, and almost unbearable for an entire book.
The unique aspects of this installation were some historically precious jewelry (I've been to the reconstructed Amber Room) and voodoo/witchcraft practices unique to New Orleans. The ideas were interesting, but they were not well integrated into the story. They read like info-dumps of research. In the end, they weren't relevant to the emotional outcome of the book.
The two things I'm giving Andrighetti credit for in this book--especially since I don't plan to read any more of them--are her humorous details (enema bag) and that she stays true to her character no matter what. Franki is so ADHD and all over the place that ultimately any mystery she investigates is going to be another distraction and another suspect one-after-another.
The plots of these mysteries are not about having a huge cast and funneling them down until the murderer is caught--oh no. Just like Franki, the books swing manically back and forth between plot points. They are consistent with the point of view character: constantly flailing. Little or no rising action, tension, or resolution until Franki inevitably faces the killer, passes out, gets rescued, and all the explanation happens offscreen.
What Didn't Work For Me
Many authors use quirks to build their characters, but Franki Amato doesn't have a few quirks; a bunch of quirks pooled their savings to buy a name. As a result, these books are repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. The same reactions, scenes, and stories happen over and over and over (and over). Franki is aggravating to read about because she isn't just involved in the usual romance trope of obvious misunderstandings, the common mystery trope of threatening detectives, and (special to this series) the interfering Italian relatives. Nooooo. Again our main prude reacts so strongly to her stripper landlady and the drag queens, prostitutes, and pimps involved in her case, that nearly every scene involves exclaiming over this-or-that skimpy outfit, boobs, or boudoir decor. Tedious after a few times, and almost unbearable for an entire book.
The unique aspects of this installation were some historically precious jewelry (I've been to the reconstructed Amber Room) and voodoo/witchcraft practices unique to New Orleans. The ideas were interesting, but they were not well integrated into the story. They read like info-dumps of research. In the end, they weren't relevant to the emotional outcome of the book.
The two things I'm giving Andrighetti credit for in this book--especially since I don't plan to read any more of them--are her humorous details (enema bag) and that she stays true to her character no matter what. Franki is so ADHD and all over the place that ultimately any mystery she investigates is going to be another distraction and another suspect one-after-another.
The plots of these mysteries are not about having a huge cast and funneling them down until the murderer is caught--oh no. Just like Franki, the books swing manically back and forth between plot points. They are consistent with the point of view character: constantly flailing. Little or no rising action, tension, or resolution until Franki inevitably faces the killer, passes out, gets rescued, and all the explanation happens offscreen.
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