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aspygirlsmom_1995's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
easchwanke's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
smalltownbookmom's review
3.0
Such potential in this closed door murder mystery that takes place at Balmoral castle over Christmas and has amateur detective/chef trying to figure out which family member poisoned the king. I was excited for this one but honestly felt it dragggggggged so much and I lost interest. Thanks to @prhaudio for the complimentary ALC otherwise this probably would have been a DNF for me. Recommended for fans of other British royal cozy mysteries like S. J. Bennett's Windsor knot/A murder most royal.
anna_shea's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
emily_loves_2_read's review
3.0
A Murder at Balmoral
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 10/25/22
Author: Chris McGeorge
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 384
GR: 3.49
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: The royal family has gathered at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral Castle, for a traditional Christmas. As a blizzard gathers outside and a delicious dinner is prepared, the family circles up for a holiday toast. King Eric has something is about to name his successor. But as he raises a glass of his favorite whiskey, he drops dead. The king has been poisoned, someone in the family must have done it, and each one of them had opportunity and motive. Eric's beloved head chef, Jonathan, must now play detective. Why would one of the king's own family members want to kill him, and how did they do it?
My Thoughts: As with any family, this one is not without complete dysfunction. The one person who does not have a grudge against the King, Chef Jonathan, has to investigate as to who could have done this. The pacing was good on this whodunit murder mystery. While I love a good murder mystery, I struggled a little with this one. I think maybe I had a hard time because I could not connect with any of the characters and while the pacing was good, the flow was different as some things was deep dived and other things breezed over. I was a little disappointed for the ending, I was hoping for more. This was not a bad book, I just wanted more. I know this will be a great book for some readers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 10/25/22
Author: Chris McGeorge
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 384
GR: 3.49
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: The royal family has gathered at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral Castle, for a traditional Christmas. As a blizzard gathers outside and a delicious dinner is prepared, the family circles up for a holiday toast. King Eric has something is about to name his successor. But as he raises a glass of his favorite whiskey, he drops dead. The king has been poisoned, someone in the family must have done it, and each one of them had opportunity and motive. Eric's beloved head chef, Jonathan, must now play detective. Why would one of the king's own family members want to kill him, and how did they do it?
My Thoughts: As with any family, this one is not without complete dysfunction. The one person who does not have a grudge against the King, Chef Jonathan, has to investigate as to who could have done this. The pacing was good on this whodunit murder mystery. While I love a good murder mystery, I struggled a little with this one. I think maybe I had a hard time because I could not connect with any of the characters and while the pacing was good, the flow was different as some things was deep dived and other things breezed over. I was a little disappointed for the ending, I was hoping for more. This was not a bad book, I just wanted more. I know this will be a great book for some readers.
cassafrassandfries's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favorite murder mystery. In truth, I was supposed to have read this for a book club that happened last month, but I just could NOT get into it. I finally decided to finish it out because I was in a murder mood, but it still really didn’t do much for me. Even as a lover of Royal Family lore, didn’t do much to spark or hold my interest.
meldav23's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.25
This book is silly in some senses, but it makes some really interesting points about the place of the monarchy. I was thoroughly entertained by the book, even though the plot and characters are both kind of overdone, but that's probably the point.
champ81's review against another edition
2.0
A bit of a lackluster whodunit with a strange twist.
Let's get the obvious out of the way: the timing on this book could be better, through no fault of the author. Currently it's scheduled to be published in October 2022, but I'm sure someone's weighing the pros and cons of moving the release date as I write this. While this book is about the death at Balmoral of the reigning Windsor monarch, it's not exactly the Windsor family you'd recognize. This takes place in an alternate universe in which Edward did not abdicate for Wallis Simpson and instead married an acceptable bride and fathered a line of Windsor royals--of which, the ill-fated King Eric is one. (In other words, the Charles/William/Harry branch of the family likely still exists, just further down in the line of succession.) Yes, in this parallel universe, there is still a Netflix series about the life of the current Windsor on the throne...only it's The Monarchy and not The Crown. And if you are looking for a skeevy black sheep who is reviled for probable criminal acts, well, it turns out this branch of the Windsors has one, too. In other words, it's like your Windsors, but not.
King Eric has decided to have a family Christmas at Balmoral and has sent away all but a few staff members. As he prepares for his annual Christmas speech, he brings his family in one by one for chats that leave them shaken. After Christmas dinner and just as he begins his speech, King Eric takes of sip of whiskey, keels over, and is dead within moments. His loyal chef, Jonathan, suspects he's been poisoned...and with no one around but the king and his family, it's probable that one of the family members is to blame. The family nominates him to begin an investigation, and he become an amateur Poirot.
Likeable as Jon is as the everyman thrust into an unenviable position amongst this cast of potential murderers, he's a terrible detective. Not just because he follows strange red herrings, but it's like he's never once seen or read a mystery to know how to begin to unravel one. The killer (or killers?) is obvious, as is the method, and the twists and turns are a bit outlandish. And the ending is so distasteful--I'm not a monarchist by any stretch, but at a certain point it seems like the point of the book is less the mystery and more the rousing of antimonarchical sentiments.
Anyway, if you're here for the whodunit, you're about to have a "meh" time. If you are here to skewer some royals, well, grab your popcorn and settle in, because you'll be creeped out by them all by the time you hit the final page.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
Let's get the obvious out of the way: the timing on this book could be better, through no fault of the author. Currently it's scheduled to be published in October 2022, but I'm sure someone's weighing the pros and cons of moving the release date as I write this. While this book is about the death at Balmoral of the reigning Windsor monarch, it's not exactly the Windsor family you'd recognize. This takes place in an alternate universe in which Edward did not abdicate for Wallis Simpson and instead married an acceptable bride and fathered a line of Windsor royals--of which, the ill-fated King Eric is one. (In other words, the Charles/William/Harry branch of the family likely still exists, just further down in the line of succession.) Yes, in this parallel universe, there is still a Netflix series about the life of the current Windsor on the throne...only it's The Monarchy and not The Crown. And if you are looking for a skeevy black sheep who is reviled for probable criminal acts, well, it turns out this branch of the Windsors has one, too. In other words, it's like your Windsors, but not.
King Eric has decided to have a family Christmas at Balmoral and has sent away all but a few staff members. As he prepares for his annual Christmas speech, he brings his family in one by one for chats that leave them shaken. After Christmas dinner and just as he begins his speech, King Eric takes of sip of whiskey, keels over, and is dead within moments. His loyal chef, Jonathan, suspects he's been poisoned...and with no one around but the king and his family, it's probable that one of the family members is to blame. The family nominates him to begin an investigation, and he become an amateur Poirot.
Likeable as Jon is as the everyman thrust into an unenviable position amongst this cast of potential murderers, he's a terrible detective. Not just because he follows strange red herrings, but it's like he's never once seen or read a mystery to know how to begin to unravel one. The killer (or killers?) is obvious, as is the method, and the twists and turns are a bit outlandish. And the ending is so distasteful--I'm not a monarchist by any stretch, but at a certain point it seems like the point of the book is less the mystery and more the rousing of antimonarchical sentiments.
Anyway, if you're here for the whodunit, you're about to have a "meh" time. If you are here to skewer some royals, well, grab your popcorn and settle in, because you'll be creeped out by them all by the time you hit the final page.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
hmhurst's review against another edition
3.0
This was very interesting to listen to a day after listening to Spare for book club. Definitely influenced my perspective on the theme of the story.