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2.7 AVERAGE
2.7 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My bar for cozy mysteries are very low. I want to enjoy the mystery and like the characters. That's it, but This book did neither. I found the main protagonist to be annoying as hell, and so rude, I'm surprised she was not killed by everyone she interviewed. I also found the gay neighbor so cliché as to border on homophobic. Add to that, the murder "twist" and I'm shocked that I even finished this book. I will not be continuing with this series.
I'm personally enjoying books with a likeable main character and Krissy was not it for me. I only made it to page 33 and thought that she was unbearable. In one scene she leaves her best friend, Vicki, and co-worker without an explanation or warning, doesn't apologize or explain upon returning, and later says she feels badly about how she treated her friend but would rather ignore that since Vicki doesn't stay mad for long.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a good cozy mystery but it had some flaws, specifically with the characters and dialogue. Overall I really liked the setting of a bookstore/coffee shop and that alone makes me want to continue reading this series. The mystery was predictable but not terrible.
I need to apologize to MHC for all those times I complained about her main characters being stupid or annoying. Compared to Krissy, they qualify for MENSA. The murder-related plot of this book was interesting and had lots of potential but I was SO AGGRAVATED by Krissy the whole time I couldn't enjoy it.
Krissy is just awful to other people. She is a terrible friend and colleague to Vicki, always leaving her at work and not pulling her own weight, and all so she can go harass locals in the town she JUST moved into. Then she is baffled when she is disliked. First day in town Krissy also meets a local who wants to get to know her, but is irritated by her, complaining that the woman is nosy and invasive, and frequently tries to avoid and ignore her, becoming annoyed when relentlessly pursued. I guess it takes one to know one because Krissy spends the rest of the book rudely poking her nose into the business of people she has never even met, relentlessly pursuing them while disliking the same behaviors she is engaging in when they are focused on her. Hypocrite.
She wants to solve the murder, which, great, classic mystery fodder, but she does it by bullying the people she thinks are involved into talking to her, refusing them to leave her alone until they answer her very invasive and forward questions- questions that people wouldn't answer if a FRIEND asked, let alone a person who JUST MOVED TO TOWN. Yet in this story, they ANSWER HER. WTF?
And why does she think she is equipped to solve a murder in a town she just moved to in which she is quickly angering and alienating people, you may ask? Oh, well, her dad writes mysteries. HUH? Yet, she doesn't use cunning or ingenuity to try to solve the crime (save one clue, that she arrived at due to, you guessed it, her harassing someone until she got what she wanted), just badgering people relentlessly.
If you need another reason to dislike Krissy, she seems to hate her cat. Which is an odd direction to take a book with a cat on the cover.
Krissy is just awful to other people. She is a terrible friend and colleague to Vicki, always leaving her at work and not pulling her own weight, and all so she can go harass locals in the town she JUST moved into. Then she is baffled when she is disliked. First day in town Krissy also meets a local who wants to get to know her, but is irritated by her, complaining that the woman is nosy and invasive, and frequently tries to avoid and ignore her, becoming annoyed when relentlessly pursued. I guess it takes one to know one because Krissy spends the rest of the book rudely poking her nose into the business of people she has never even met, relentlessly pursuing them while disliking the same behaviors she is engaging in when they are focused on her. Hypocrite.
She wants to solve the murder, which, great, classic mystery fodder, but she does it by bullying the people she thinks are involved into talking to her, refusing them to leave her alone until they answer her very invasive and forward questions- questions that people wouldn't answer if a FRIEND asked, let alone a person who JUST MOVED TO TOWN. Yet in this story, they ANSWER HER. WTF?
And why does she think she is equipped to solve a murder in a town she just moved to in which she is quickly angering and alienating people, you may ask? Oh, well, her dad writes mysteries. HUH? Yet, she doesn't use cunning or ingenuity to try to solve the crime (save one clue, that she arrived at due to, you guessed it, her harassing someone until she got what she wanted), just badgering people relentlessly.
If you need another reason to dislike Krissy, she seems to hate her cat. Which is an odd direction to take a book with a cat on the cover.
Spoiler
Also, the killer was a queer person... lovely. *insert eye roll at murderous gays trope*
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The cats were the best characters in the books. The main character was unlikable and a bit selfish.
"Right then, even Misfit's catnip-laced hair ball couldn't bring me down."
In the beginning I had mixed feelings about this read. I normally really dislike books that are super unrealistic but this IS a cozy mystery and most of them usually are. They have to fit a lot into fewer pages so more liberties are taken, I think. The main character Krissy is VERY nosy, very inappropriate, and thinks there is absolutely nothing wrong with just running up to strangers and accusing them of things or asking them highly personal questions. Perhaps a little privileged as well. She rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning... well, most of the book actually, lol, but I overlooked it and just enjoyed the book for what it was. I laughed a lot while reading it, fell in love with her demon cat, Misfit, and found myself really rooting for the budding romance between her and Paul.
I read this as a quick, fun read and it delivered on that so I'll definitely pick up the next book in the series and see how it progresses. There are 9 books in this series and I'm assuming that character development will work it's way into each book a little at a time. That's fine with me. It fits the bill as a cozy read for me.
In the beginning I had mixed feelings about this read. I normally really dislike books that are super unrealistic but this IS a cozy mystery and most of them usually are. They have to fit a lot into fewer pages so more liberties are taken, I think. The main character Krissy is VERY nosy, very inappropriate, and thinks there is absolutely nothing wrong with just running up to strangers and accusing them of things or asking them highly personal questions. Perhaps a little privileged as well. She rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning... well, most of the book actually, lol, but I overlooked it and just enjoyed the book for what it was. I laughed a lot while reading it, fell in love with her demon cat, Misfit, and found myself really rooting for the budding romance between her and Paul.
I read this as a quick, fun read and it delivered on that so I'll definitely pick up the next book in the series and see how it progresses. There are 9 books in this series and I'm assuming that character development will work it's way into each book a little at a time. That's fine with me. It fits the bill as a cozy read for me.