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allisonwonderlandreads's review
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
This cozy mystery takes a while waking up fully. The first 25% reviews characters and settings from the series, while introducing a large, dysfunctional, Iowan family full of murder suspects (and one victim). Once the poisoning occurs in the tearoom, the investigation is underway. I was disappointed when the plot continued to crawl along. I expect the genre to err towards cozy over mysterious. I don't expect thrills, but I look for setting and characters to do the work of making things welcoming. However, I think this book focused too much on unnecessary details with no relevance to the murder or to characterization. Because of it, I grew bored and testy the further I read. For example, I liked delicious descriptions of Lily's cooking and baking, but repetitive reminders of her daily work routines did not add value to the story.
One thing I enjoy about the setup of this series is that protagonist Lily isn't the intrepid amateur investigator. She begrudgingly supports her grandmother and best friend's sleuthing while she herself provides food, a certain naïveté, and tries to put on the brakes when scheming goes too far. Where this diverges from the first book is that Lily comes across as very underappreciated in this one. She works herself to the bone, but she is often talked down to, her help is assumed rather than asked for, and her opinions are sidelined.
Overall, the promise of these characters and their relationships from the first book is betrayed by stagnation in this sequel. Lily ultimately doesn't grow closer to her best friend, grandmother, or romantic interest. We see a slight shift when people are reacting to the dramatics of the murderer reveal right at the end, but I would guess that this is a temporary response and everything will go back to square one in the next novel.
There's one more aspect of the book that I wish to discuss because it's actually problematic and not just about preference. There are several scattered instances of fat-shaming in this book. Sometimes, weight was the main feature of a character shared with readers. In fact, it's suggested by one helpful armchair detective that the murder victim wasn't poisoned but rather so fat that he died of a heart attack (logic!). This is furthered when Lily's grandmother doesn't want people to know a murder occurred on her property, so she tells someone in town that he was overweight to let them infer it was his own fault he died.
I'm just really disappointed.
One thing I enjoy about the setup of this series is that protagonist Lily isn't the intrepid amateur investigator. She begrudgingly supports her grandmother and best friend's sleuthing while she herself provides food, a certain naïveté, and tries to put on the brakes when scheming goes too far. Where this diverges from the first book is that Lily comes across as very underappreciated in this one. She works herself to the bone, but she is often talked down to, her help is assumed rather than asked for, and her opinions are sidelined.
Overall, the promise of these characters and their relationships from the first book is betrayed by stagnation in this sequel. Lily ultimately doesn't grow closer to her best friend, grandmother, or romantic interest. We see a slight shift when people are reacting to the dramatics of the murderer reveal right at the end, but I would guess that this is a temporary response and everything will go back to square one in the next novel.
There's one more aspect of the book that I wish to discuss because it's actually problematic and not just about preference. There are several scattered instances of fat-shaming in this book. Sometimes, weight was the main feature of a character shared with readers. In fact, it's suggested by one helpful armchair detective that the murder victim wasn't poisoned but rather so fat that he died of a heart attack (logic!). This is furthered when Lily's grandmother doesn't want people to know a murder occurred on her property, so she tells someone in town that he was overweight to let them infer it was his own fault he died.
I'm just really disappointed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Grief, and Murder
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