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A review by lenorayoder
Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes by Karen Rose Smith
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book feels like the author wrote out a personal fantasy, then added a mystery around the edges when she realized a book actually needs plot. We get endless descriptions of irrelevant details like the outfits everyone is wearing, the hallway layout of a lawyer’s office the characters visit once, the furniture in every location, hairstyles, teapot and cup and plate designs, etc. etc. I don’t share in this very specific daydream, and therefore spent a lot of time skimming over extraneous descriptions of things like “trendy” outfits that already feel dated, waiting for something interesting to happen. Meanwhile, we get very few details about the murder, and the sudden reveal of the culprit has nothing to do with any kind of detecting skills the main character might have.
The writing overall feels very amateurish, for the content reasons mentioned above, but also technically. There’s a lot of clunky dialogue and exposition, and the author frequently tells instead of shows. At least the read was quick. I won’t be checking out anything else in this series or from this author.
The writing overall feels very amateurish, for the content reasons mentioned above, but also technically. There’s a lot of clunky dialogue and exposition, and the author frequently tells instead of shows. At least the read was quick. I won’t be checking out anything else in this series or from this author.