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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Wonderful book. I don't know if it was be as good for someone who was not a fly fisherman. The book is full of fishing references. the mystery is pretty good, but I don't think a non fisherman would make it through it. I'm looking forward to reading the others in this series.
This was not your typical detective protagonist in that Sean is a artist, former PI, and very avid fisherman. To be clear I am not a huge fan of fishing though I have done it before, but I seem to really enjoy books about fly fishing for some reason. I adored The River Why and found this book to be quite interesting as well. Anyway, back to the book. Sean has moved to Montana and is no longer a practicing PI. Martha is the sheriff in the town. When a dead body is pulled from the river and accidental drowning is ruled out, Sean and Martha find their paths crossing as they are both drawn into the case for different reasons. Liked the setting and the characters quite a bit with the exception of the rather cliched femme fatale.
This was a completely new genre for me. I like a good mystery, but usually read sweet cozy mysteries. I know nothing about Montana (the setting for this story) or fly fishing (the central subject of the story) or anything else that came up in this book, yet I enjoyed it. The mystery is a good one, the characters well developed, if a little stereotypical (come on - a smoky singer from the south named Velvet?), but it was still a good story. It held my attention enough to keep me reading and considering I had no clue what the author was talking about when he discussed fly tying, that's saying a lot.
A definite recommend for mystery lovers, especially sports fishers who may actually know what a Royal Wulff fly looks like. :)
A definite recommend for mystery lovers, especially sports fishers who may actually know what a Royal Wulff fly looks like. :)
If you fish you will love this book. If you like mysteries you just have to wade (pun intended) through all the fish talk. You learn a lot about trout and Montana and more than you want to know about fly fishing. Who knew there was something called whirling disease decimating indigenous trout populations? That was an interesting aspect of the plot that when combined with greed and the quest for fame with a little mental health issue thrown in kept me turning the pages. There's also an unlikely hero, an artist and fisherman who happened to be a PI back in a previous life. There's a "femme fatale" who is not so much a femme fatale as an unattainable woman who attracts men like a light attracts moths and is not sure what she wants from life. Some other colorful characters include the woman sheriff and her stalwart deputy, a retired Chicago cop, and there's a Native American tracker as well. I'm ready to read another one in this series.
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
In the small town of Bridger, Montana, Rainbow Sam and his client snag more than trout on their fishing trip. Instead of a trophy trout, they hook a dead body! Sheriff Martha Ettinger and her deputy Walter Hess try to determine if the young man drowned accidentally or if it was murder. In the meantime, Sean Stranahan, artist and part-time PI, is hired by a mysterious singer from Mississippi to find the location her late father had gone fishing the year before so she can spread his ashes in that spot of the river. Sean soon learns there is more to this case than meets the eye and ends up heavily involved in a murder investigation and in the life of his beautiful client.
The Royal Wulff is a type of trout fishing fly and this novel is all about fly fishing. It’s not just a gimmick to catch the reader’s eye, this is an authentic outdoors mystery and fishing is important to the characters and to the murder. The book also addresses whirling disease, a real issue of concern in many rivers, and something I had not been previously aware of.
I like the character of Sean who manages to come across as both a man’s man and a lady’s man. He is an outdoorsman that is knowledgeable about fishing and lures, but is apparently irresistible to attractive, older women including a woman in his past, his client Velvet, and the sheriff. Martha is also a likeable character. She is intelligent and funny and determined to get to the bottom of the case she is handed. Velvet is a bit clichéd as the beautiful singer who hires and falls for Sean. She is an enigma, but I never quite understood why she had to act so mysteriously.
The novel is an unusual mix of a hard-boiled detective mystery and a literary novel. The book works best when describing the outdoors. The romantic storyline falls flat for me and some of the dialogue seems forced and a bit stilted. Parts of the book are definitely aimed more at male readers, such as detailed information about changes in pinup models throughout the years. While some portions of the book went on a little too long, the storyline is interesting and the mysteries being investigated by Martha and Sean have satisfying resolutions. However, the book’s ending seems abrupt to me and I wished there would have at least been an epilogue to “tie” a few of the loose ends together. This is a unique book that fans of Robert B. Parker or C.J. Box may enjoy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Penguin/Viking.
The Royal Wulff is a type of trout fishing fly and this novel is all about fly fishing. It’s not just a gimmick to catch the reader’s eye, this is an authentic outdoors mystery and fishing is important to the characters and to the murder. The book also addresses whirling disease, a real issue of concern in many rivers, and something I had not been previously aware of.
I like the character of Sean who manages to come across as both a man’s man and a lady’s man. He is an outdoorsman that is knowledgeable about fishing and lures, but is apparently irresistible to attractive, older women including a woman in his past, his client Velvet, and the sheriff. Martha is also a likeable character. She is intelligent and funny and determined to get to the bottom of the case she is handed. Velvet is a bit clichéd as the beautiful singer who hires and falls for Sean. She is an enigma, but I never quite understood why she had to act so mysteriously.
The novel is an unusual mix of a hard-boiled detective mystery and a literary novel. The book works best when describing the outdoors. The romantic storyline falls flat for me and some of the dialogue seems forced and a bit stilted. Parts of the book are definitely aimed more at male readers, such as detailed information about changes in pinup models throughout the years. While some portions of the book went on a little too long, the storyline is interesting and the mysteries being investigated by Martha and Sean have satisfying resolutions. However, the book’s ending seems abrupt to me and I wished there would have at least been an epilogue to “tie” a few of the loose ends together. This is a unique book that fans of Robert B. Parker or C.J. Box may enjoy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Penguin/Viking.
I think to make it a 5 you have to have an appreciation for fly fishing and the outdoors. Good characters, and a good plot.
I was looking for a different type of book when I decided to give the Royal Wulff Murders a try. In fact, I read a lot of similar books, and needed something to clean the palette. This book did exactly that. I was a bit worried at first. It really isn't a subject matter that I am familiar with and as such I had a lot of difficulty getting into the book. Thankfully, about a third of the way in, the book really picked up in speed, and I was able to follow better what whats going on.
The book does an excellent job introducing the characters. It gets a little muddy until the real plot of the story gets going, but once it does, its a light quick read. There are several books in this series, and I look forward to read them all, using each as a palette cleanser intermixed through my normal fare.
The book does an excellent job introducing the characters. It gets a little muddy until the real plot of the story gets going, but once it does, its a light quick read. There are several books in this series, and I look forward to read them all, using each as a palette cleanser intermixed through my normal fare.