Reviews

Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective by Katie Siegel

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cepayola's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

natesfairytale's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

I discovered the story of Charlotte Illes on Tiktok. I followed the author for a funny sketch and didn’t realise she wrote a book until I browsed Netgalley. There I found her second book, that I asked for, I got accepted, read it, and realised it was the second book. So, I ordered the first one, read, and loved it as much as the second one. The review for Charlotte Illes Is Not A Teacher is already up on my profile, if anyone is interested.

And that got us here, on this review. With no surprise, I loved that book. I think Katie Siegel got a way with storytelling. When she starts a story, you want to listen/read it. She mastered the way of telling a funny story with a deeper meaning, and I absolutely love it.

Charlotte is funny, smart and loyal. She would do anything for her family and friends, so when there’s a mystery concerning the girlfriend of her brother, she can’t help getting back in business. Even if she’s still in denial about it.

She is in this weird phase where she needs to find something to do with herself, but nothing sounds appealing. Which really resonates with my current situation (I’m not a detective though, that would have been really cool). And she kind of distanced herself with her entourage (again, hitting home) and she doesn’t realise that she’s pushing away the people that care most about her. They just want to help her.

Something that I really loved about the second book, is that she has friends that don’t disappear when they’re not needed for the story. Friendship is something really important in this book too, and I love friendship, so I was really happy to see them being present. Also, I love that all the characters got their own lives, I feel like it makes it more realistic.

I just love this stories, they are light hearted, with deeper stuffs still present. And Charlotte is very attaching. So, if you want a quick mystery, with attaching characters and a lot of humour, read those books! And I almost forgot, but if you want queer representation, read it too! There’s bisexual (MC), trans and gay representation!