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A review by sandaru
Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
As soon as I saw the book I wanted to read this (the whole series) as immediately as possible, for two reasons.
One, this is a spin off story about one of my favourite crime writers, Agatha Christie and her sleuth character, Hercule Poirot. I adore the Poirot series and Christie's books.
Second reason, I am in the middle of a similar project myself, writing a crime novel series for the middle grade audience. While reading, I compared and reflected on the areas I might have needed help/inspiration from, whether it's the suitable writing styles, grammar, dialogue or even potholes and plot related areas. It was really cool, reading someone's novel in order to get inspired or to learn. Much like a reference book sort of!
The writing style was humorous and engaging and kept me reading it faster, which I believe I should be inspired from for my own project. And the story is fairly decent and engaging, even if I guessed the killer from the first time of their appearance. (Or may be it's because I am just too into crime genre, I have learned to ignore the obvious and look at the not so obvious everytime) another things was, a lot of times the dialogue and the plot was great and coherent and smooth but there were parts I felt either awkward and rushed or even too slow and draggy. But overall for the middle grade audience, this would make a cute and engaging story. Something I wish I got to read as a kid.
Ps: the misconception, or may be it's a real thing still!, about murder being the topic of a middle grade novel, was put aside by this author, which I am really grateful for teaching me that it's okay to write about a topic like that without making it a big deal. Not so gruesome but not too cute of a murder. Loved it.
One, this is a spin off story about one of my favourite crime writers, Agatha Christie and her sleuth character, Hercule Poirot. I adore the Poirot series and Christie's books.
Second reason, I am in the middle of a similar project myself, writing a crime novel series for the middle grade audience. While reading, I compared and reflected on the areas I might have needed help/inspiration from, whether it's the suitable writing styles, grammar, dialogue or even potholes and plot related areas. It was really cool, reading someone's novel in order to get inspired or to learn. Much like a reference book sort of!
The writing style was humorous and engaging and kept me reading it faster, which I believe I should be inspired from for my own project. And the story is fairly decent and engaging, even if I guessed the killer from the first time of their appearance. (Or may be it's because I am just too into crime genre, I have learned to ignore the obvious and look at the not so obvious everytime) another things was, a lot of times the dialogue and the plot was great and coherent and smooth but there were parts I felt either awkward and rushed or even too slow and draggy. But overall for the middle grade audience, this would make a cute and engaging story. Something I wish I got to read as a kid.
Ps: the misconception, or may be it's a real thing still!, about murder being the topic of a middle grade novel, was put aside by this author, which I am really grateful for teaching me that it's okay to write about a topic like that without making it a big deal. Not so gruesome but not too cute of a murder. Loved it.