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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
A book within a book is an interesting concept, made more interesting with the concept of a mystery within a mystery! I think where this book was a bit of a letdown for me was that it tried too hard to be complex. In the book, Alan Conway is pointed out to have been too clever and tried too hard with his non mystery book The Slide. I’m not sure if this was an intentional mirror that Anthony was making on himself, since I felt the book was trying too hard, it was a bit glaring.
I’m not interesting in reading any more of this series, but I am glad I finally read this book I’ve heard so much about! But overall, it just felt like I read the same book twice with only the satisfaction of a single book.
I’m not interesting in reading any more of this series, but I am glad I finally read this book I’ve heard so much about! But overall, it just felt like I read the same book twice with only the satisfaction of a single book.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Interesting concept, but I didn't like the book as much as I thought I would. I was more invested in the Pund story. It had more interesting characters.
Susan's story wasn't quite captivating. Something about an editor doing a detective work felt off. Also, I found it hard to plow through random writings from Alan's sister, Claire, and Donald Leigh (and others).
I was also expecting more connection between the two murders. With all the chatter about puzzles and hints and hidden meanings, I had hoped for a much grander reveal.
Susan's story wasn't quite captivating. Something about an editor doing a detective work felt off. Also, I found it hard to plow through random writings from Alan's sister, Claire, and Donald Leigh (and others).
I was also expecting more connection between the two murders. With all the chatter about puzzles and hints and hidden meanings, I had hoped for a much grander reveal.
a book within a book, an agatha christie style whodunnit, acrostics and secret clues, red herrings galore - sign me up. this was fantastic, clever, a delight.
I thought it was very interesting to have a mystery within a mystery where the book manuscript somewhat reflected the “real life” of the author within the book.
The story of Atticus Pündt was engaging, the setting drawing the reader in as you grapple with all the crossed storylines on the characters in the town. Atticus was a very likable protagonist and the side characters had charm in a classic mystery kind of way. The overall mystery of Magpie Murders (in the book) did a good job of throwing the reader off the trail of the real murderer and resolved in an unpredictable way. That being said, the murder reveal left me feeling sad and I almost wish the overall driving force of the mystery was the Pye family rather than the Blakiston family. Robert’s revealed past kind of came out of nowhere, which normally works really well in a novel like this but I couldn’t help but feel like it was more of a borrowed trope. However, I did still enjoy the fact that I did not guess correctly who did it.
Now to the “real” present day storyline. At first, between the Magpie Murder’s characters and the real world characters, I had a hard time keeping them straight at first. It was intriguing to try and match up characters between the two narrative lines, particularly once it became more clear how the stories reflected each other. I have to say I enjoyed the “fictional” Magpie Murders character of the Atticus storyline more than the present day reflections. A lot of them felt flat and not as engaging. I liked Susan enough, but thought she was somewhat boring. Maybe it just felt like her character wasn’t quite as fleshed out. I don’t feel like we really knew her, and some of the details of her life meant to add depth felt flung together arbitrarily. I feel like we didn’t get as much time with her in the book, which may be why Atticus felt more familiar and known. My initial guess of Alan Conway’s murderer was correct, but I did find myself second guessing a lot. I like a mystery that isn’t quite so predictable so overall, I enjoyed this read and felt that it was paced quite nicely.
The story of Atticus Pündt was engaging, the setting drawing the reader in as you grapple with all the crossed storylines on the characters in the town. Atticus was a very likable protagonist and the side characters had charm in a classic mystery kind of way. The overall mystery of Magpie Murders (in the book) did a good job of throwing the reader off the trail of the real murderer and resolved in an unpredictable way. That being said, the murder reveal left me feeling sad and I almost wish the overall driving force of the mystery was the Pye family rather than the Blakiston family. Robert’s revealed past kind of came out of nowhere, which normally works really well in a novel like this but I couldn’t help but feel like it was more of a borrowed trope. However, I did still enjoy the fact that I did not guess correctly who did it.
Now to the “real” present day storyline. At first, between the Magpie Murder’s characters and the real world characters, I had a hard time keeping them straight at first. It was intriguing to try and match up characters between the two narrative lines, particularly once it became more clear how the stories reflected each other. I have to say I enjoyed the “fictional” Magpie Murders character of the Atticus storyline more than the present day reflections. A lot of them felt flat and not as engaging. I liked Susan enough, but thought she was somewhat boring. Maybe it just felt like her character wasn’t quite as fleshed out. I don’t feel like we really knew her, and some of the details of her life meant to add depth felt flung together arbitrarily. I feel like we didn’t get as much time with her in the book, which may be why Atticus felt more familiar and known. My initial guess of Alan Conway’s murderer was correct, but I did find myself second guessing a lot. I like a mystery that isn’t quite so predictable so overall, I enjoyed this read and felt that it was paced quite nicely.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
While this was an interesting concept, it was not integrated enough for my liking and was perhaps a bit too meta. The transition in the middle was tough at first but eventually the overarching story began to make sense and was enjoyable.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Question 1: I do not regret finishing this book. (+1)
Question 2: I would recommend to a friend because I genuinely enjoyed it. (+1)
Question 3: It had lots of interesting ideas. (+0.75)
Question 4: There were one of two stand out characters, but most were two-dimensional. (+0.25)
Question 5: The writing accomplished it's goal, but was nothing worth discussing (ex. conversational) (+0.75)
Bonus: I was in the fence about the last three questions, so I rounded down and am adding +0.25
Question 2: I would recommend to a friend because I genuinely enjoyed it. (+1)
Question 3: It had lots of interesting ideas. (+0.75)
Question 4: There were one of two stand out characters, but most were two-dimensional. (+0.25)
Question 5: The writing accomplished it's goal, but was nothing worth discussing (ex. conversational) (+0.75)
Bonus: I was in the fence about the last three questions, so I rounded down and am adding +0.25
I read We Solve Murders at the same time and enjoyed the pace of that one more.