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octavia_cade's review
3.0
A re-imagining of Cinderella, told from the point of view of the prince. In this case, the prince is a gumshoe detective - this is a fairy tale/noir mash-up - who finds the bloody slipper of his dance partner and goes investigating. In perfect honesty, the whole gumshoe mystery sub-genre doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe it's the language, maybe it's the style, but it's not my thing. Here, though, it's not that bad - although that may be partly because this is a short story. I think I'd have more trouble sticking with this if it were a novel, for instance. No blame to St. George, though - I think she does a great job mixing together two very different genres, and it's hardly her fault that I came into the story not caring for one of them.
I will say, though, that I'm interested in reading the other short stories in the series. Basically because the most interesting parts of this story, for me, were the setting and background. Spindle City is subject to a spreading disease known as Pins and Needles, and the profit-driven pharmaceutical companies are in a long covert war with drug runners who want a more egalitarian approach to medicine. Underlying this conflict is a 20 year old piece of history, wherein the (impoverished) infected were sometimes burned alive to keep the contagion from spreading. This is awful, really deeply awful (and creepy), so naturally I was riveted. More of that, please!
I will say, though, that I'm interested in reading the other short stories in the series. Basically because the most interesting parts of this story, for me, were the setting and background. Spindle City is subject to a spreading disease known as Pins and Needles, and the profit-driven pharmaceutical companies are in a long covert war with drug runners who want a more egalitarian approach to medicine. Underlying this conflict is a 20 year old piece of history, wherein the (impoverished) infected were sometimes burned alive to keep the contagion from spreading. This is awful, really deeply awful (and creepy), so naturally I was riveted. More of that, please!
coeurdesamurai's review
3.0
I'm gonna go with 3 stars because it's rather short but I could feel a lot of potential. The world is compulsive and so are the characters. The noir genre mixed with the retelling story gave some kind of wicked Sin City ambiance. However, I found it too messy. Perhaps it's the lack of development or the overuse of info-dump; too many people for so little words and a lot happen in such a short time. At times, the writing was a muddle and scenes would go too fast and not clear at all -- but the dialogues were fabulous and so was the use of old slang! Totally recommend this quick read though.
Btw, the short story is free to read right here: http://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2015/11/the-case-of-the-little-bloody-slipper-spindle-city-mystery-1-by-carlie-st-george.html
Btw, the short story is free to read right here: http://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2015/11/the-case-of-the-little-bloody-slipper-spindle-city-mystery-1-by-carlie-st-george.html
chaosqueen's review
5.0
This was excellent. So short, but so good. Admittedly, the slang was a bit excessive, at times making it hard for me to understand what was going on.
freereverie's review
5.0
A killer (pun intended) spin on fairy tales through a noir lens. Utterly delightful, and has some great hints at characters that I hope will get further fleshing out in the sequels. As it is, I'm hooked on the adventures of Jimmy Prince and Jack, and can't wait to learn more about their fantastical world.
booksandbosox's review
4.0
Another great publication from the Book Smugglers - this was a delightful read, particularly as I spent a large chunk of last year studying noir. This falls very clearly into that category and also hits my fairy tale retelling sweet spot. The vocabulary can be a bit to muddle through, but otherwise a really engaging read. Looking forward to reading the next one!
peterseanesq's review
5.0
My Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3J6FDFB3TQGBF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3J6FDFB3TQGBF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
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