Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Undetectables

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

5 reviews

corsetedfeminist's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I picked up this book for the tagline, and it did not disappoint.
This book is a magical murder mystery novel, featuring 3 best friends- a tall bi girl with chronic pain and fatigue, a nonbinary bug nerd, and a short, fat lesbian who gets all the girls and wears heels that unsheathe to reveal knives. (Yes, I am obsessed with that last member. I love all of them, but I would instantly marry Diana.)
Rounding out the group is a semi-corporal ghost of a forensic scientist who died wearing costume cat ears and is the sweetest, out of pocket gay ghost one could ever imagine, and who mentors our three girls throughout their investigation.
I loved this book. The mystery itself took repeated turns that I couldn’t predict, and the worldbuilding is complex but revealed as needed. The author also does a good job of using interviews for the case to give us back story without it being boring.
The plot is also interwoven with the developing and realistic friendship between our main characters and the struggle of a girl to accept being disabled while still saving the day.
This book is if Nancy Drew books were a little older, openly magic, and a lot gayer. What else do you need to know

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fionamclary's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was funny and full of heart. I loved our main characters and especially related to Mallory given that a chronic illness has been increasingly disabling me for the past year and a half. I enjoyed the take on a magical culture/society that maps nicely onto the human diversity of the real world.

However, I found the lore to be frustratingly thin. It didn't make sense to me how many seemingly basic aspects of magic were unknown to Occulture before the events of the story

(such as spells and people being able to travel via witchlight)

, and the history of the Ternion remained vague and confusing throughout. It meant that by the end I still didn't understand what it would actually mean for someone to

summon or join the Ternion

, and what the motivation/thought process would be that would lead someone to this decision. I also felt that the details of how the

ritual murders

themselves worked were very poorly fleshed out. E.g. how does one make the

death blade

? How does it work? This was super frustrating and majorly detracted from the quality of the story. However, I think this author has a lot of potential, and I'd be intrigued if a second book happens, as the ending of this book seemed to be allowing for. There's still some mysteries unsolved!

Also, I really want a movie version now just so that Nathan Foad can play Theodore. I think that would go so hard.

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blewballoon's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Really struggling to rate this one, there are a lot of things I liked about it conceptually, but something also felt off the whole time. I think the dialogue sometimes didn't flow right and bent unnaturally to accommodate humor or to obfuscate a plot point. I figured out most of the pieces of the mystery really early on, and it was frustrating how much the book put those reveals off, even though I usually don't mind when that happens for me in a mystery book. It made The Undetectables seem incompetent. I appreciated the fibromyalgia representation, and I sympathize with Mallory, but I did find her hard to like from the beginning when she

lashes out at Theodore

. I loved Theodore, and Diana was pretty great as well. If there are more books in this universe I'll probably check them out. It's kind of like Halloween town for adults, which is fun, and maybe the off vibes I felt won't be as much of an issue.

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starrysteph's review

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

The Undetectables was a charming & sweet cozy mystery. Though it had its weaknesses, I loved the dynamic & healthy friendships, the fibromyalgia representation, and the often comedic writing style.

A trio of witch friends are reunited after the first case arrives on the doorstep of the investigative agency they attempted to start as teens: The Undetectables. Their task? Find the killer whose magical whistling causes their victims to choke on their own tongues. Clever and forensically-minded Mallory is navigating life with fibromyalgia, flirty Diana is ready to socially engineer any potential witnesses, and bug expert Cornelia has to try to see clearly through her hatred of police. And Theodore - whose murder was the first they ever witnessed - is eager to assist in ghostly form. He’s also perennially stuck in a cat costume, but don’t mention it. With no leads and no obvious motives, the team has to pull it together and catch The Whistler before they strike again.

The world, lore, and different systems of magic were simple/not super developed, but definitely interesting. I also appreciated the queernormative world and range of identities.

I really enjoyed our quartet of main characters. They’re all smart, they all care about each other, and they’re all doing their best to be good, supportive, accepting friends. However, their characterization was cartoonish at times, with Theodore’s dramatics, Diana’s never-ending parade of ex-girlfriends, the fact that they said things like “unalived”, etc. The characters did feel very young and immature for early 20s, and the humor felt a bit young as well.

I was so happy about the inclusion of fibromyalgia - and an exploration of what it means to have a chronic illness in a magical world. Also what it means for someone who has worked hard to become knowledgeable struggle with brain fog, someone who prides themself on their independence to ask for help and support from friends, and so many more little relatable tidbits.

My biggest stumble was the overarching mystery. I think it was too long and too slow. The villain was frustratingly obvious, and for a trio that was so clever and scientifically advanced it was disappointing that they didn’t manage to put ANY of the pieces together. I felt like I was twiddling my thumbs and waiting for them to catch up to my thought process, which wasn’t super fun.

Finally, one moment that has stuck with me involves the main character doing something needlessly cruel. I understood why it was happening in the moment/it narratively made sense, but in my opinion it was NOT resolved well at all - especially for a book with a lot of plot points around good friendship.

I am overflowing with questions from the ending - and I think I would pick up the next book (if there is going to be a next book) to see how some of the remaining mysteries shake out.

CW: murder, death, animal death, animal cruelty, chronic illness, grief, kidnapping, gore, confinement, toxic relationship, ableism, fire

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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fromjuliereads's review

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adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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

I went into this book based on an author I like posting about it (Lillie Lainoff), the tagline, and the synopsis. And I wasn't disappointed! I was looking for a unique premise and awesome characters, and this book definitely delivered on both!

Let's get the minor notes out of the way first. I think that this definitely had a slower pace than I expected as a fantasy mystery. There are a few spots in the middle that lagged - but the characters do keep you interested! I think this might be more a debut thing since the author has written more short stories previously. And nothing against the book, but I did guess the villain earlier than the characters.

But my list of good far outweighs those notes!!
- I really loved these characters! They are quirky, badass, and relatable! Mallory is taller than average, Cornelia wears glasses and is blunt, and Diana is plus-size and THEY ARE ALL SMART IN THEIR OWN WAYS. They have their strengths and distinct personalities and they all love each other for who they are. It's honestly one of my favourite friendships I've read.
- queernormative characters - like, lots of them. And there are multiple nonbinary characters with they/them pronouns on page.
- chronic illness rep. Mallory has fibromyalgia and it is part of her character and the plot in a realistic way. It was great to see it part of the story and how it affects her, both physically and mentally. While I don't have chronic illness, I have migraine and pain days and Mallory felt really relatable to me in a lot of ways. Which is amazing to see in a fantasy novel!
- while I did see who the villain was going to be, the backstory and WHY, how it's revealed, were all a surprise to me and well done! I didn't see that route coming honestly.
- Theodore.

While I don't think everyone will LOVE this book, there are definitely people who will appreciate everything I listed above with the mix of magic, witches, and the occult.

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