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emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The humor sprinkled throughout this book made it an absolute pleasure to read. The characters, their wit, and the balance of seriousness & light-heartedness had me laughing and tearing up. I highly recommend this to anyone of any age. I'm 26, but the perspective of life from an older person was refreshing and makes me want to appreciate my life more. My favorite bits are Joyce's journal entries. I'm not sure if I have a favorite character, but she had me smiling the most. I'm excited to read the other installments.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, Pregnancy
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a bit of an odd book for me. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but if I was away, I never really felt compelled to pick it up.
The setting was different and I really enjoyed the characters overall and their friendship, but the plot was a bit more complicated than it needed to be. There was so much going on and it often pulled me out of the story. So many murders and pieces at play and somehow everything was connected and wrapped up nicely at the end (for the most part).
I figured out the killer for the first murder as soon as they walked on page because there's a stereotype with specific kinds of characters and it was disappointing that they fell into that same thing over and over again. The thing about knowing that though, it didn't explain anything and there really weren't many clues along the way to lead you there unless you squinted. Elizabeth just seemed to know everything from the start and pretended she didn't for the benefit of everyone else. Given her background that makes some sense, but still, it should be more of a group effort than one being a puppetmaster and everyone else the puppets to the point where several of the characters just kind of notice it and roll with it. The writing and pacing also had a lot of issues too.
The relationships are truly where this book was in its element and some of the sleuthing was fun to read, but overall it was fun and I will probably continue just to see if they improve a bit, but slightly disappointing.
The setting was different and I really enjoyed the characters overall and their friendship, but the plot was a bit more complicated than it needed to be. There was so much going on and it often pulled me out of the story. So many murders and pieces at play and somehow everything was connected and wrapped up nicely at the end (for the most part).
I figured out the killer for the first murder as soon as they walked on page because there's a stereotype with specific kinds of characters and it was disappointing that they fell into that same thing over and over again. The thing about knowing that though, it didn't explain anything and there really weren't many clues along the way to lead you there unless you squinted. Elizabeth just seemed to know everything from the start and pretended she didn't for the benefit of everyone else. Given her background that makes some sense, but still, it should be more of a group effort than one being a puppetmaster and everyone else the puppets to the point where several of the characters just kind of notice it and roll with it. The writing and pacing also had a lot of issues too.
The relationships are truly where this book was in its element and some of the sleuthing was fun to read, but overall it was fun and I will probably continue just to see if they improve a bit, but slightly disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Grief
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a quaint and cosy book, that's the best way I can describe it, despite it being a murder mystery. The idea of it taking place at a retirement home with a cast of characters overwhelmingly over the age of 75 was a surprisingly intriguing and easy to get into.
It is written in a really accessible and straightforward way, the mystery is set up early and in a way that made me want to read on and get to the bottom of it. The characters are rich and interesting, easy to connect to in one way or another.
Where the book fell down for me and soured the experience is a spoiler that comes with a trigger warning, so read on at your own risk:the author used suicide as a way out of storylines or as a scandalous side note far too many times that ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth. I think there were at least 4 characters that committed suicide or whose stories featured it.
Overall, with the above and the fact that I felt too many of the 'red herrings' were resolved too quickly made it less gripping and suspenseful than other crime/mystery novels. That said, I will read at least the next book in this series at some point to give another mystery with this fabulous cast of characters a shot, they were really the highlight for me.
It is written in a really accessible and straightforward way, the mystery is set up early and in a way that made me want to read on and get to the bottom of it. The characters are rich and interesting, easy to connect to in one way or another.
Where the book fell down for me and soured the experience is a spoiler that comes with a trigger warning, so read on at your own risk:
Overall, with the above and the fact that I felt too many of the 'red herrings' were resolved too quickly made it less gripping and suspenseful than other crime/mystery novels. That said, I will read at least the next book in this series at some point to give another mystery with this fabulous cast of characters a shot, they were really the highlight for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder
Minor: Cursing, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Took me a bit to get into it. I don’t know why everyone is calling this light hearted it made me cry more than laugh. Also I think the audiobook would have benefited from a full cast, it was hard to tell people apart and whose POV we were in sometimes, especially with the diary entries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Dementia
Moderate: Body shaming, Terminal illness
Minor: Pregnancy
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Murder, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Three people I know recommended this book to me. If they'd led with how funny it is, I might've read it sooner. On the other hand, if they'd led with how corpse-strewn and emotional it is, I might've read it sooner, too. (Basically, what I'm saying is, if you're going to recommend a book to me, please tell me why you think I'd like it. No matter how much I like you, just telling me, "I liked it" won't convince me.) Anyway. This is a funny, emotional, corpse-strewn mystery, and I liked it a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Classism
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Graphic: Ageism
Moderate: Nonconsensual drug use, Euthanasia
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is not my normal read so it's low, but at the same time I think it's well written and definitely should be plenty of people's cup of tea, but I'm not one for the "cozy mysteries" usually.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism