Reviews

I’m sitting on the fence with my three star rating and I honestly could go either way. While I was less taken with all the vinyl record collecting info (plus details of all the gear used to play the LPs etc) I liked diving into charity shops and jumble sales with the main character and his femme du jour. I kind of got the obsession with the hunt for this particular set of jazz records produced by the Hathor label, but the intrigues and infighting between record producers, royalty rights and musicians left me shaking my head. I did appreciate the plot during the first half of the novel, but half way through when it felt like it should have ended there was another half left to read! Lastly, while I can appreciate a guy falling hard for a cat loving female, it was a bit of a stretch to think this same guy might have a second and similarly lovely lady fall into his lap so to speak. Oops, now that I’ve written this I think I’m leaning backwards to a 2.5 rating!

themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition

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3.0

This is so obviously in Rivers Of London territory, I half expected Peter Grant to be one of the investigating officers. Although this is not a supernatural tale so the Folly wouldn’t take an interest.
However, the author fights to find his own voice. This starts to happen towards the end of the book but before that it feels a bit disjointed. The hero seems relatively undisturbed by the number of dead bodies that turn up in his wake. His new girlfriend is also slightly implausible. Outside of her contract she seems to have expensive tastes, but no visible means of income. We’ll see if any of the wrinkles get ironed out in the second instalment

jonathanrobert's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

trohnics's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

beastreader's review against another edition

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4.0

I have never heard of this author but I always enjoy discovering new ones. So glad I did with this author and book. I have listened to a few records from my parents. They owned a record player and it was from my parents that I was introduced to music and developed my love for some of the greats from artists like the Dobbie Brothers, Allman Brothers, and Alabama to name a few. However this does not mean I could relate to the love that the Vinyl Detective had as a connoisseur. Yet the more that I felt his love for music and finding that rare find I got more excited as well. He and Miss Warren were kind of like the Odd couple but they just worked well together and kept things entertaining. I appreciate music more after reading this book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Warning as the "f" word is used some in this book but in a tasteful way. Other then the use of the "f" word I would classify this book as a fun, koozy, cozy mystery.

patti_pinguin's review against another edition

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funny mysterious relaxing medium-paced

3.5

csdaley's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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