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drlori14's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
katzreads's review
2.0
I read this on vacation, and it retrospect I'm not sure why I stuck with it. It just wasn't good enough. Lots of loose ends that never got tied up, lots of characters who were not fully developed, lots of actions that weren't sufficiently logical. I realize it was the first book in the series, so that subsequent books may resolve some of that, but I'm not going to give them the chance.
cjfiebert's review
2.0
There were parts of this book that I loved and parts that I was really disappointed by.
The story focuses on Joanna Hayward, a woman who eschews anything modern and owns a vintage clothing story. I have seen many reviewers complain about how pretentious Joanna is for the way she goes on about how much she hates modern technology, but that wasn't the worst part of this book. In the beginning of the story, an elderly customer brings a beautiful old jacket to the shop to sell and has a bit of a mysterious conversation with Joanna. She calls back later that day to beg for the jacket back and Joanna offers to drop it off the next day. When Joanna arrives at the story the next morning, she finds the woman dead underneath the jacket. What unravels is a mystery of who might have been involved.
I liked that Joanna and I seemed to be on the same page with our suspect list and why we thought certain events were happening. But I hated that there were SO MANY red herrings. Most of them were easy enough to recognize as a red herring, but it still felt like there were so many of them. And there were so many unanswered questions at the end of the story! Why bring up certain plot points if you are NEVER going to mention them again? Especially with how abruptly the story ended!
If I thought that the next book in the series would answer these questions, I might be less annoyed by the book. But the blurb for the next story seems to focus simply on the next mystery and I highly doubt that the questions left unanswered are important enough for the author to answer them in the next novel. But those unanswered questions are exactly why I won't pick up this book again.
The story focuses on Joanna Hayward, a woman who eschews anything modern and owns a vintage clothing story. I have seen many reviewers complain about how pretentious Joanna is for the way she goes on about how much she hates modern technology, but that wasn't the worst part of this book. In the beginning of the story, an elderly customer brings a beautiful old jacket to the shop to sell and has a bit of a mysterious conversation with Joanna. She calls back later that day to beg for the jacket back and Joanna offers to drop it off the next day. When Joanna arrives at the story the next morning, she finds the woman dead underneath the jacket. What unravels is a mystery of who might have been involved.
I liked that Joanna and I seemed to be on the same page with our suspect list and why we thought certain events were happening. But I hated that there were SO MANY red herrings. Most of them were easy enough to recognize as a red herring, but it still felt like there were so many of them. And there were so many unanswered questions at the end of the story! Why bring up certain plot points if you are NEVER going to mention them again? Especially with how abruptly the story ended!
If I thought that the next book in the series would answer these questions, I might be less annoyed by the book. But the blurb for the next story seems to focus simply on the next mystery and I highly doubt that the questions left unanswered are important enough for the author to answer them in the next novel. But those unanswered questions are exactly why I won't pick up this book again.
j3nnplam's review
2.0
Joanna is a pretentious snob, eschewing microwaves and cell phones and bookkeeping software and "getting through law school on just a typewriter she found at Goodwill", somehow cooking gourmet meals with steaks that are still frozen after work and a garden she never seems to tend, apparently paying for an Internet connection she never uses and does not know how to access.
The police are either extraordinarily stupid and incompetent or else the author just knows nothing about suspicious death investigation, evidence collection, and chain of custody.
Every single character, of which there are many, had some sort of hook -- no one in the book is an average everyday person. I am not fully on board with the principle of Chekov's gun, but this book would have been well served with some of the flavour toned down.
This was almost an enjoyable book with the charm of the vintage shop, but the unlikeable and unrelatable protagonist and the amount of disbelief suspension required when it comes to the incomprehensibly stupid detective really took away from what should have been a quick and cozy murder mystery.
The police are either extraordinarily stupid and incompetent or else the author just knows nothing about suspicious death investigation, evidence collection, and chain of custody.
Every single character, of which there are many, had some sort of hook -- no one in the book is an average everyday person. I am not fully on board with the principle of Chekov's gun, but this book would have been well served with some of the flavour toned down.
This was almost an enjoyable book with the charm of the vintage shop, but the unlikeable and unrelatable protagonist and the amount of disbelief suspension required when it comes to the incomprehensibly stupid detective really took away from what should have been a quick and cozy murder mystery.
woolyj's review
3.0
A very easy to read murder mystery. Joanne owns Tallulahs Closet, a vintage clothing store. She is happy then one of her customers gets murdered and Joanne just cant let it go.
It was good. Lots of detail in the story, with a few twists and turns in there. Very easy to read and enough to keep you page turning till the very end. Looking forward to reading the next one.
It was good. Lots of detail in the story, with a few twists and turns in there. Very easy to read and enough to keep you page turning till the very end. Looking forward to reading the next one.
ashleylm's review
2.0
If after five years I can't be bothered to finish it, and remember nothing about it except it didn't grab me and was vaguely annoying, I should bite the bullet and realise I'm not going to read it.
thehungrybrain's review
Just couldn't make myself finish this book. The mystery was sort of interesting, but I just didn't care enough about the characters and some characters (the main character, for instance) I just didn't like much at all.
tarshly's review
1.0
The main character was annoying and, well, kind of slow. I've seen a few people call her pretentious, but I just think she's an incredibly unrealistic character. Also, I'm pretty sure the author doesn't know how anything works... People, crime investigations, just anything... Except maybe fashion, which I don't care about at all. I just felt done with this book about a quarter of the way through.
lraven13's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the vintage clothing angle, was underwhelmed by the writing. The main character is not the most intriguing in the book, which is kind of sad. I'm all for changing your surroundings in a novel, but that tends work best in another timeline or slightly in the future. I'm not sure what the draw is to give it the four or five stars.