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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
https://readinglife342128355.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/digital-review-tuesday-mooney-wore-black/
A few weeks ago (Friday 13th to be exact!) I received an email from a HarperCollins marketer through NetGalley inviting me to read the UK debut by Kate Racculia, Tuesday Mooney Wore Black:
An unlikely mashup of genres that has the emotional heart of Little Miss Sunshine and the satisfying unravelling of a mystery of the best of Agatha Christie, more information for you below!
Tuesday Mooney loves a puzzle. So when an eccentric billionaire drops dead, leaving behind a fiendish treasure hunt – open to anyone – to his fortune, Tuesday can’t resist.
Although she works best alone, she soon finds herself partnering up with best friend Dex (money manager by day, karaoke-zealot by night) and the mysterious Nathaniel Arches, eldest son of a wealthy family who held a long-running feud with the dead man.
As the clues are solved, excitement across the city reaches fever pitch – but nothing is as it seems, and the puzzle-within-a-puzzle holds something much darker than a vast fortune at its heart…
This piqued my interest and even though I have many, many books lined up and even more reviews to get through I hit the ‘Click the link below’ and downloaded it.
I started this a few days ago, we’re hitting prime Halloween time and I figured that a slightly spooky ghost story with a puzzle would be a good break from the normal fantasy that I’ve been reading.
As you can tell from the blurb, we follow Tuesday Mooney’s story as she gets involved in a treasure hunt when Vincent Pryce, an eccentric billionaire, drops dead. Vincent was a lover of all things weird and wonderful and was a collector. Tuesday is her own person – she is a stereotypical ‘goth’ loner with an even more stereotypical gay best friend who she doesn’t realise is actually a best friend. Tuesday and the gay best friend (Dex) along with the teenage neighbour (Dorry) get involved with the mysterious rich man who turns up to solve the treasure hunt… And so the story goes.
The Positives:
- The characters. I enjoyed the main characters, specifically Tuesday, Dorry and Dex. Although they were so stereotypically written (hellloooo not every kid that dresses all in black is a loner or ‘weird’ or anything else), they were written well and I enjoyed them. The way that Tuesday’s analytical brain was reflected was fantastic, the mental notepad and files just resonated. I can say exactly the same for how the personality traits of Dex and Dorry were portrayed.
- The plot and premise. This was an intriguing plot – a dead man’s treasure hunt around Boston with a prize that no one really knows that might or might not involve ghosts just sounds fantastic. And for the most part it was – the plot was well thought through with a clear line of thought throughout. There were sub plots and tangents, but everything tied together, everything happened for a reason and to further the plot, even if that didn’t become apparent until further down the line.
- The Undercurrent. Although this story has a very clear plot line and a very clear story there is a sub plot/undercurrent that drew me in. The Arches Family story was one that intrigued me and that added a darker touch to this. It was cleverly weaved throughout the bigger plot without taking over. It was clear that this was supposed to be the ‘main’ plot but for me it wasn’t.
- Pop Culture. I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of the pop culture references that were present in the book. I grew up in the 90s so hearing so many things referenced like Ok Computer and X-Files made me smile. There were some nice touches in there that reminded me of something like Ready Player One without the intensity and info dumps about the era.
The Negatives:
- The actual writing. I enjoyed this book, but I was actually a little bit shocked to discover this was an adult book and not a middle grade or YA book. The writing was good and was enjoyable but very young at points.
- The Characters. I know, I know, I’m doing it again – a positive and a negative! While I enjoyed the main characters themselves, there were so many characters in general that I lost track of who was who and who was doing what and involved in what. Ned, Lisa Pinto, Cass, Verena, even Lyle, Constance and Emerson. There were just too many and in truth I’m not sure how much value some of them added.
- The lack ghosts… I shall say no more.
Overall, I gave this one 3* out of 5. I enjoyed this and would pick up another book by this author. To say it was an adult book still surprises me, but overall it was a fun, easy read.
As always the eARCs was provided by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a fair review.
https://readinglife342128355.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/digital-review-tuesday-mooney-wore-black/
A few weeks ago (Friday 13th to be exact!) I received an email from a HarperCollins marketer through NetGalley inviting me to read the UK debut by Kate Racculia, Tuesday Mooney Wore Black:
An unlikely mashup of genres that has the emotional heart of Little Miss Sunshine and the satisfying unravelling of a mystery of the best of Agatha Christie, more information for you below!
Tuesday Mooney loves a puzzle. So when an eccentric billionaire drops dead, leaving behind a fiendish treasure hunt – open to anyone – to his fortune, Tuesday can’t resist.
Although she works best alone, she soon finds herself partnering up with best friend Dex (money manager by day, karaoke-zealot by night) and the mysterious Nathaniel Arches, eldest son of a wealthy family who held a long-running feud with the dead man.
As the clues are solved, excitement across the city reaches fever pitch – but nothing is as it seems, and the puzzle-within-a-puzzle holds something much darker than a vast fortune at its heart…
This piqued my interest and even though I have many, many books lined up and even more reviews to get through I hit the ‘Click the link below’ and downloaded it.
I started this a few days ago, we’re hitting prime Halloween time and I figured that a slightly spooky ghost story with a puzzle would be a good break from the normal fantasy that I’ve been reading.
As you can tell from the blurb, we follow Tuesday Mooney’s story as she gets involved in a treasure hunt when Vincent Pryce, an eccentric billionaire, drops dead. Vincent was a lover of all things weird and wonderful and was a collector. Tuesday is her own person – she is a stereotypical ‘goth’ loner with an even more stereotypical gay best friend who she doesn’t realise is actually a best friend. Tuesday and the gay best friend (Dex) along with the teenage neighbour (Dorry) get involved with the mysterious rich man who turns up to solve the treasure hunt… And so the story goes.
The Positives:
- The characters. I enjoyed the main characters, specifically Tuesday, Dorry and Dex. Although they were so stereotypically written (hellloooo not every kid that dresses all in black is a loner or ‘weird’ or anything else), they were written well and I enjoyed them. The way that Tuesday’s analytical brain was reflected was fantastic, the mental notepad and files just resonated. I can say exactly the same for how the personality traits of Dex and Dorry were portrayed.
- The plot and premise. This was an intriguing plot – a dead man’s treasure hunt around Boston with a prize that no one really knows that might or might not involve ghosts just sounds fantastic. And for the most part it was – the plot was well thought through with a clear line of thought throughout. There were sub plots and tangents, but everything tied together, everything happened for a reason and to further the plot, even if that didn’t become apparent until further down the line.
- The Undercurrent. Although this story has a very clear plot line and a very clear story there is a sub plot/undercurrent that drew me in. The Arches Family story was one that intrigued me and that added a darker touch to this. It was cleverly weaved throughout the bigger plot without taking over. It was clear that this was supposed to be the ‘main’ plot but for me it wasn’t.
- Pop Culture. I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of the pop culture references that were present in the book. I grew up in the 90s so hearing so many things referenced like Ok Computer and X-Files made me smile. There were some nice touches in there that reminded me of something like Ready Player One without the intensity and info dumps about the era.
The Negatives:
- The actual writing. I enjoyed this book, but I was actually a little bit shocked to discover this was an adult book and not a middle grade or YA book. The writing was good and was enjoyable but very young at points.
- The Characters. I know, I know, I’m doing it again – a positive and a negative! While I enjoyed the main characters themselves, there were so many characters in general that I lost track of who was who and who was doing what and involved in what. Ned, Lisa Pinto, Cass, Verena, even Lyle, Constance and Emerson. There were just too many and in truth I’m not sure how much value some of them added.
- The lack ghosts… I shall say no more.
Overall, I gave this one 3* out of 5. I enjoyed this and would pick up another book by this author. To say it was an adult book still surprises me, but overall it was a fun, easy read.
As always the eARCs was provided by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a fair review.
https://readinglife342128355.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/digital-review-tuesday-mooney-wore-black/
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-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:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
I loved this. The writing is so smart and witty and charming, and I really enjoyed the characters and the treasure hunt aspect (I described this to my husband as kind of like Ready Player One but good)