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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Murder Go Round by Carol J. Perry is the fourth book in A Witch City Mystery series. It is late August in Salem, Massachusetts. Maralee “Lee” Barrett and her aunt, Ibby (Isobel Russell) are going to a storage locker auction. The first locker looks like it is full of junk, but Ibby notices the writing on one of the boxes. They bid and win. What looks like a space full of junk, turns out to be full of treasures. There is a beautiful hand-carved wood carousel horse wrapped in a crazy quilt, a gorgeous clock, Russian nesting dolls, and a gorgeous sterling silver samovar. But it seems that someone else wants their newly acquired gems. They sort through the many items and divide them into piles. One pile heads to the curb, one for the local charity shop, and the final (and much smaller) pile heads into the house. Pete Mondello, a police detective and Lee’s boyfriend, helps Lee take the carousel horse to Paul Carbone be refinished. That night Lee receives a call from Pete that Paul’s shop has been broken into. Someone took apart her carousel horse and the police found a man deceased outside Paul’s shop. It is soon obvious that the culprit is not finished. The next morning, they discover that the trash from the storage locker has disappeared from the curb during the night (trash men are not that efficient). The items at the thrift shop are also gone. What could they be looking for? Lee uses her special ability (she can see visions in reflective surfaces) along with clues from her equally unique cat, O’Ryan to help Pete solve the case.
Murder Go Round is easy to read, and I like the setting of Salem, Massachusetts. While Murder Go Round is the fourth book in A Witch City Mystery series, it can easily be read alone. The author updates the reader on what has occurred in the previous novels. The mystery is intriguing. I like how it takes us back to Czar Nicholas II (the last Czar of Russia before the revolution). I give Murder Go Round 3 out of 5 stars. I did not enjoy Murder Go Round as much as I did the previous books in the series. I found information to be repeated (especially about the case) and the mystery was not difficult to solve. I was able to ferret out the culprit early in the book. I wish there had been less time spent on Raven and her tarot card reading. I did not feel it enhanced the story (it was distracting and the cards are confusing). I wish that Lee would embrace her abilities. I am tired of her complaining about her unique gift. Lee mentions more than once that she associates her gift (visions) with death and dying (what does she expect when she solves mysteries and helps her detective boyfriend). I believe the author needs move Lee forward. We need to see her character grow, develop and embrace her gift. I will read the next book in A Witch City Mystery series. I will give it another shot to see if there is improvement.
Murder Go Round is easy to read, and I like the setting of Salem, Massachusetts. While Murder Go Round is the fourth book in A Witch City Mystery series, it can easily be read alone. The author updates the reader on what has occurred in the previous novels. The mystery is intriguing. I like how it takes us back to Czar Nicholas II (the last Czar of Russia before the revolution). I give Murder Go Round 3 out of 5 stars. I did not enjoy Murder Go Round as much as I did the previous books in the series. I found information to be repeated (especially about the case) and the mystery was not difficult to solve. I was able to ferret out the culprit early in the book. I wish there had been less time spent on Raven and her tarot card reading. I did not feel it enhanced the story (it was distracting and the cards are confusing). I wish that Lee would embrace her abilities. I am tired of her complaining about her unique gift. Lee mentions more than once that she associates her gift (visions) with death and dying (what does she expect when she solves mysteries and helps her detective boyfriend). I believe the author needs move Lee forward. We need to see her character grow, develop and embrace her gift. I will read the next book in A Witch City Mystery series. I will give it another shot to see if there is improvement.
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
If you chose this story read the physical book avoid the audio. The audio narrator is terrible who over-enunciates every other word and pauses between them so the pace is clipped and jarring, also she is very dull and droning.
This story is written as if for middle-grade age. It's overly simplistic, repetitive and there were way to many step by step details as if the reader was learning everyday things. Example: I opened the car door, I got into the car, I closed the car door, I put the key in the ignition and started the car, I put on my seatbelt, I drove out of the driveway.
There is zero character growth in this story and the MC's are getting very boring. Also in this book for all their book smarts (seriously Aunt Ibby is a walking Google, and everyone knows everything, or knows someone who does and has multiple high degrees at young ages) they have no common sense or lack of reality. They see the best in everyone as soon as they meet them and these people could never do anything bad, they could never dupe you or lie ext. Seriously? Get your head out of the clouds. Oh and everyone here is rich and can afford to work when they want. Last they all live just fine and dandy with perpetual sleep deprivation. They seriously get like 3-4 hours of a sleep a night for weeks and function as if they had a solid 8 hours. I don't know about you but after a few nights of little sleep, I am exhausted and fuzzy brained.
Lee and her 'powers' left a bit to be desired this time around. She is told that her powers are getting stronger and to listen to them and her intuition/gut. She says she will but doesn't. She hates her powers but calls upon them to show her things then gets angry and annoyed or scared when they do because she doesn't like what they show her or how. Also her familiar, O'Ryan the cat...as with her powers he shows her things and she ignores him, then asks for his help, then ignores him...ugh. Also he has a name but she spends half the book just calling him cat. Hey cat, oh look cat, ext.
Also the way the mystery is unraveled in this story got on my nerves. The setting is Salem, Massachusets for crying out loud. While not a huge metropolis it is a nice size city and yet they only have 1 detective? And as we learn in this novel he isn't even thought with schooling???? On top of that he doesn't even do most of the work, he lets his girlfriend and MC Lee and her aunt do it all. Aunt Ibby solves most of the cases, he just shows up to get their information and point them in new directions. FYI Aunt Ibby is Sherlock who notices and knows everything, Lee is Watson who just goes along and takes notes or runs errands for her aunt and they report back to Pete (the detective). Pete tells Lee repeatedly (as do other people) to stay out of police business and stop nosing around yet they don't do anything to stop her when she does, points her in need directions, asks her what she found and tell her what they know and will do next so she goes first. UGH. (Pete tells her repeatedly that she would make a GREAT detective (no) and she is taking online classes).
The plot of this novel is that Aunt Ibby takes Lee to a storage locker auction and their purchase attracts some very unwanted attention from a host of interesting but unsavory characters. As they discover the history of the items they bought that history brings out present dangers. Russian intrigue and connections abound.
This story is written as if for middle-grade age. It's overly simplistic, repetitive and there were way to many step by step details as if the reader was learning everyday things. Example: I opened the car door, I got into the car, I closed the car door, I put the key in the ignition and started the car, I put on my seatbelt, I drove out of the driveway.
There is zero character growth in this story and the MC's are getting very boring. Also in this book for all their book smarts (seriously Aunt Ibby is a walking Google, and everyone knows everything, or knows someone who does and has multiple high degrees at young ages) they have no common sense or lack of reality. They see the best in everyone as soon as they meet them and these people could never do anything bad, they could never dupe you or lie ext. Seriously? Get your head out of the clouds. Oh and everyone here is rich and can afford to work when they want. Last they all live just fine and dandy with perpetual sleep deprivation. They seriously get like 3-4 hours of a sleep a night for weeks and function as if they had a solid 8 hours. I don't know about you but after a few nights of little sleep, I am exhausted and fuzzy brained.
Lee and her 'powers' left a bit to be desired this time around. She is told that her powers are getting stronger and to listen to them and her intuition/gut. She says she will but doesn't. She hates her powers but calls upon them to show her things then gets angry and annoyed or scared when they do because she doesn't like what they show her or how. Also her familiar, O'Ryan the cat...as with her powers he shows her things and she ignores him, then asks for his help, then ignores him...ugh. Also he has a name but she spends half the book just calling him cat. Hey cat, oh look cat, ext.
Also the way the mystery is unraveled in this story got on my nerves. The setting is Salem, Massachusets for crying out loud. While not a huge metropolis it is a nice size city and yet they only have 1 detective? And as we learn in this novel he isn't even thought with schooling???? On top of that he doesn't even do most of the work, he lets his girlfriend and MC Lee and her aunt do it all. Aunt Ibby solves most of the cases, he just shows up to get their information and point them in new directions. FYI Aunt Ibby is Sherlock who notices and knows everything, Lee is Watson who just goes along and takes notes or runs errands for her aunt and they report back to Pete (the detective). Pete tells Lee repeatedly (as do other people) to stay out of police business and stop nosing around yet they don't do anything to stop her when she does, points her in need directions, asks her what she found and tell her what they know and will do next so she goes first. UGH. (Pete tells her repeatedly that she would make a GREAT detective (no) and she is taking online classes).
The plot of this novel is that Aunt Ibby takes Lee to a storage locker auction and their purchase attracts some very unwanted attention from a host of interesting but unsavory characters. As they discover the history of the items they bought that history brings out present dangers. Russian intrigue and connections abound.
hannahrae113's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
scallywag316's review against another edition
4.0
Cute quick read. Enjoy the characters, the story and of course the mystery.
jitterbun's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
sara_wical's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
2.5
grimmlin666's review against another edition
4.0
I still can’t get over the fact that they were able to ship in cookies from Harrods but couldn’t afford a bookmobile. Four stars for that (but mainly bc this one was a bit everywhere and tied up too quickly without Lee).
bookishraccoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5