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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
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
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It took a third of the book to get to the plot and maybe that should have told me to DNF.
The mystery isn't very engaging. The characters are not compelling. The narrator does something strange with the characters of Valerie. He makes his voice so deep - probably the deepest of all the characters - for her specifically. It's such an odd choice.
I won't remember this.
The mystery isn't very engaging. The characters are not compelling. The narrator does something strange with the characters of Valerie. He makes his voice so deep - probably the deepest of all the characters - for her specifically. It's such an odd choice.
I won't remember this.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
A pleasant and cozy murder mystery, full of era-accurate language and depictions, reading this book really was like being immersed in a British weekday afternoon mystery series from days of yore! The dialogue was particularly enjoyable, really vibrant and dynamic, and the setting was bucolic, very much matching the "old England" feel of Marple etc. Pleasingly, I didn't guess the murderer or the method, which is always a nice surprise. Not sure if this is going to be part of a series, but I feel like it could be. My thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.
The opening line of this book initially grabbed me and the buildup of the story kept me engaged initially. I would say that the killer was my original guess, however it was still a cozy read. I was hoping for something akin to Robert Barnard, but did find the writing somewhat reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz but perhaps not quite as engaging.
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
In the Cotswalds of 1924, Arbuthnot “Arbie” Swift is the celebrity author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting. Which also makes him the ideal man for Miss Amy Phelps and her ancestor ghost problem. After one of his nightly vigils, Miss Amy Phelps is found locked in her bedroom, deceased. His friend and the vicar’s daughter, Val, insists that they must investigate the murder, but Arbie isn’t so sure. Soon it becomes clear that everyone has a motive, and when another tragedy occurs, Arbie realizes he must close both the ghost and murder cases before it’s too late.
I honestly did not like Val, the vicar’s daughter. I found her to be rude to Arbie and a bully. Most of what happens to Arbie is because of Val. However, I also thought Arbie was a bit of a whiner. I appreciated that he was kind of forced into the ghost hunting, and the murder investigation, but Arbie turned out to be one of the more intelligent characters in the novel.
The mystery starts right away as readers follow Arbie in “assisting” Amy Phelps with her ghost problem. Miss Phelps murder doesn’t occur until about 25% of the way in. The waiting for something to happen made the pacing of the book go slower than what might have been intended. I think if the blurb was written differently than readers would have a more anticipatory feeling as opposed to “when does this lady die?” feeling.
I do feel the same as many others. There seemed to be a lot of useless information, especially about Arbie’s Uncle and his hobbies. Maybe if there had been some things that could have been removed and a couple of others given a little more attention than the pacing and connectivity would have been better.
Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I honestly did not like Val, the vicar’s daughter. I found her to be rude to Arbie and a bully. Most of what happens to Arbie is because of Val. However, I also thought Arbie was a bit of a whiner. I appreciated that he was kind of forced into the ghost hunting, and the murder investigation, but Arbie turned out to be one of the more intelligent characters in the novel.
The mystery starts right away as readers follow Arbie in “assisting” Amy Phelps with her ghost problem. Miss Phelps murder doesn’t occur until about 25% of the way in. The waiting for something to happen made the pacing of the book go slower than what might have been intended. I think if the blurb was written differently than readers would have a more anticipatory feeling as opposed to “when does this lady die?” feeling.
I do feel the same as many others. There seemed to be a lot of useless information, especially about Arbie’s Uncle and his hobbies. Maybe if there had been some things that could have been removed and a couple of others given a little more attention than the pacing and connectivity would have been better.
Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.