Review by adventurouspotato - Except the Dying

adventurouspotato 's review for:

Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings

2.0

informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The setting is well developed but the mystery... not so much.

Canning?? Seriously the guy was mentioned like two times in the whole book before the ending. There was barely any way to suspect him that since he wasn't even interrogated. There were way too many side stories/red herrings that barely got wrapped up in the conclusion and the even main mystery was barely explained. Was there any kind of deeper motive? Who knows!

Also like, it's realistic that Murdoch would want Owen to be "straightened out" because of the homophobic attitudes in the 19th century, but I get the distinct impression that the author agrees and didn't think twice about it. Just feels like something that wouldn't have been put that way in a book today and I kinda left the book on a sour note because of it.

By the way, I can't find anything at all about the word "shicey" which is used so many times in this... I guess it means shitty?? Overall I found the use of old timey slang and nonstandard spelling to be overzealous. At one point a character says "whoze" instead of "who's" and you can't convince me there's a difference in how anyone would pronounce those.

Content Warnings