You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Absolutely delightful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A historical mystery with a leading lady detective that reminded me of Christie's Miss Marple. Szymiczkowa brings late 1800s Crakow to life, with its complex social and political tensions, classism, religiousity, and artistic culture. Zofia is a bored housewife with limited outlets besides running the home, doing charity work, and dabbling in poetry. When she comes across a suspicious death, she leverages those experiences and resources like her housemaid and her husband's colleagues to get to the truth. She has a brilliant reveal a la Poirot at the end in front of the police that failed to take her seriously; however, the story drags at points before getting there so I struggled a bit to stay invested.
I absolutely loved the audiobook. This is cozy crime at its absolute best. I adored Zofia and can’t wait for the audiobook of the second novel to come out in a few weeks. The mystery is great. The writing is funny and sharp. The narrator, Moira Quirk, is perfect. I’m buying both books!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So much of the translated stuff I read is "literary fiction," and that's fine and well, but it was refreshing to spend some time with a breezy, fun mystery that was also grounded in a different cultural context (this one also had
mysterious
medium-paced