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lisaconn's review
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.0
ionag's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
campbelle's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ssejig's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Clara Vale is asked to look into the sudden disappearance of Sybil Langford. The woman is legendary in pantomime circles and her professionalism is well-known. For her to leave so quickly and in the middle of the season worries her young friend Peggy. Even as Clara is looking into the information, another person dies.
At the same time, she is hired to help figure out why a local department store is losing so much merchandise. The man who hires for the department store is a familiar name, Jack Danskin. He is eventually brought into the mystery a little bit more and he may become a bigger part of the series as we go on.
I like this book better than the first ones as we are getting to know the characters more and the mystery came together a bit more smoothly.
At the same time, she is hired to help figure out why a local department store is losing so much merchandise. The man who hires for the department store is a familiar name, Jack Danskin. He is eventually brought into the mystery a little bit more and he may become a bigger part of the series as we go on.
I like this book better than the first ones as we are getting to know the characters more and the mystery came together a bit more smoothly.
clarke's review
3.0
This was a quite 'cute' mystery, without the thrill and suspense typically associated with a murder investigation. Clara is a private investigator, having inherited the business from her late uncle. Initially investigating a disappearance, which then becomes a murder, she vows to get to the bottom of it.
I found the book to be a slower pace than I would've liked, with a lot of filler scenes (I'm still not sure why her family's issues were included, for example). I also thought that a lot of lines of enquiry were investigated later than I would've expected. I was begging for more questions to be asked. The main suspects also seemed pretty obvious to me from the off, and it was overall hard to care that much. I liked some of the characters, and that there wasn't an inclusion of outright homophobia (eg remarks) but an acknowledgement of why it may be a secret to be gay. There was also a lot of dialogue written in accents which I don't typically enjoy as it pulls me out of the immersion and cheapens it for me.
I think this is a pretty easy book to read if you're interested in this type of mystery. It was overly Christmassy, and seemed to be set at Christmas just to say the investigation would take longer because of it (like how Die Hard is set at Christmas but isn't about it). I probably won't pick up any others from the series but there's no hard feelings. I prefer a lot more tension and stakes in my mystery's, but if you'd like something more casual then you'll probably like this book.
I found the book to be a slower pace than I would've liked, with a lot of filler scenes (I'm still not sure why her family's issues were included, for example). I also thought that a lot of lines of enquiry were investigated later than I would've expected. I was begging for more questions to be asked. The main suspects also seemed pretty obvious to me from the off, and it was overall hard to care that much. I liked some of the characters, and that there wasn't an inclusion of outright homophobia (eg remarks) but an acknowledgement of why it may be a secret to be gay. There was also a lot of dialogue written in accents which I don't typically enjoy as it pulls me out of the immersion and cheapens it for me.
I think this is a pretty easy book to read if you're interested in this type of mystery. It was overly Christmassy, and seemed to be set at Christmas just to say the investigation would take longer because of it (like how Die Hard is set at Christmas but isn't about it). I probably won't pick up any others from the series but there's no hard feelings. I prefer a lot more tension and stakes in my mystery's, but if you'd like something more casual then you'll probably like this book.
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