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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I love ernest. Always finding himself in situations.
Enjoyed this one maybe even a little more than the first. Felt like i had a better handle on the all the characters and remembering who was who.
Love how silly this is, cant wait to read the next
Enjoyed this one maybe even a little more than the first. Felt like i had a better handle on the all the characters and remembering who was who.
Love how silly this is, cant wait to read the next
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
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:
Yes
After surviving a murder spree, Ernest Cunningham is part of a literary festival on a train with a group of authors, to talk about their work, Ernest has only published one book, and is trying to come up with his next book, a work of fiction. As the journey goes on, he starts to investigate what he thinks might be a murder, and it turns out, is exactly that. Can he solve the murder and get a new best seller out of the whole situation.
This story is so very good, and very meta from the prologue, talking about prologue's being played out, to talking about the structure of a mystery novel and how an author sets one out to the nearest ten thousand words, to talking about all the tropes that usually happen in murder mysteries, whilst the trope is playing out, and even telling the reader they'll have given the name of the murderer, by the number of times they mention other characters by name.
There are so many red herrings and twists that it kept me guessing right till the end. Though Ernest is sympathetic in terms of how some of the other writers look down on him, he's also a bit self-centred, which culminates in his girlfriend Juliette leaving the festival early.
Overall, this was a really good story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This story is so very good, and very meta from the prologue, talking about prologue's being played out, to talking about the structure of a mystery novel and how an author sets one out to the nearest ten thousand words, to talking about all the tropes that usually happen in murder mysteries, whilst the trope is playing out, and even telling the reader they'll have given the name of the murderer, by the number of times they mention other characters by name.
There are so many red herrings and twists that it kept me guessing right till the end. Though Ernest is sympathetic in terms of how some of the other writers look down on him, he's also a bit self-centred, which culminates in his girlfriend Juliette leaving the festival early.
Overall, this was a really good story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
challenging
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first, but loved the Andy cameos. It was just a bit too complicated, but still an entertaining listen.
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
I read the first book and liked it, and boy was this sequel a disappointment.
First, this book could have been 1/3 it’s actually size. It felt like the author needed a word count to hit and filled the book by over explaining every single event that was going to happen a la how to write a murder mystery. As a fan of the mystery genre, this irked me to no end. I know the formula! I like it! That’s why I read it! You don’t need to tell me what’s going to happen! It was so boring.
Second, I cannot get behind the narrator-is-an-author-trying-to-write-a-book troupe. I hate it every time I read it, and this time it was especially irritating (see above). The narrator came off as very whiny compared to all the other authors there, which is saying a lot because none of the characters were endearing. By the time they were all very formally introduced, I did not care who was going to be killed.
Third, the ending just seems so implausible and really unsatisfying. There’s the ending, and then surprise! Another ending! And then again, surprise! This is actually the end. Maybe I was annoyed by it because I just wanted the book to end.
First, this book could have been 1/3 it’s actually size. It felt like the author needed a word count to hit and filled the book by over explaining every single event that was going to happen a la how to write a murder mystery. As a fan of the mystery genre, this irked me to no end. I know the formula! I like it! That’s why I read it! You don’t need to tell me what’s going to happen! It was so boring.
Second, I cannot get behind the narrator-is-an-author-trying-to-write-a-book troupe. I hate it every time I read it, and this time it was especially irritating (see above). The narrator came off as very whiny compared to all the other authors there, which is saying a lot because none of the characters were endearing. By the time they were all very formally introduced, I did not care who was going to be killed.
Third, the ending just seems so implausible and really unsatisfying. There’s the ending, and then surprise! Another ending! And then again, surprise! This is actually the end. Maybe I was annoyed by it because I just wanted the book to end.