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A review by bookish_kristina
The Dastardly Debutante by Helen Goltz
4.0
Generous 4 stars because it entertained me.
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. It was similar to the others in the series, and had a busy cast of characters and a lot of side plots/romances for a cozy, but I wanted something that I didn’t have to think too much about and this fit the bill.
Not a stand alone, you really need the background of the other books in the series, but the mystery was decent and at least the ghosts played more of a part in this than they have in previous books.
The author seems to be exploring the same themes in this series as her last one; stodgy detective, free thinking, unconventional heroine, lady reporter (side character this time), only sister in close knit family of brothers. It’s extremely similar and not quite as well executed as Miss Hayward and the Detective books. I’m curious as to why she’s not trying to differentiate between her series more. She has a really good idea here with the lady mortician who can see ghosts to help solve crimes but it’s not fully realized and she seems to be falling back on familiar storylines rather than stretching herself.
So this was good but I still feel slightly disappointed. I am always upset when an author tells the same story over and over again, so take that for what you will. Some readers enjoy familiarity, while I get bored by it.
So all in all a decent read. It was not the best by this author but it got the job done, I guess?
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. It was similar to the others in the series, and had a busy cast of characters and a lot of side plots/romances for a cozy, but I wanted something that I didn’t have to think too much about and this fit the bill.
Not a stand alone, you really need the background of the other books in the series, but the mystery was decent and at least the ghosts played more of a part in this than they have in previous books.
The author seems to be exploring the same themes in this series as her last one; stodgy detective, free thinking, unconventional heroine, lady reporter (side character this time), only sister in close knit family of brothers. It’s extremely similar and not quite as well executed as Miss Hayward and the Detective books. I’m curious as to why she’s not trying to differentiate between her series more. She has a really good idea here with the lady mortician who can see ghosts to help solve crimes but it’s not fully realized and she seems to be falling back on familiar storylines rather than stretching herself.
So this was good but I still feel slightly disappointed. I am always upset when an author tells the same story over and over again, so take that for what you will. Some readers enjoy familiarity, while I get bored by it.
So all in all a decent read. It was not the best by this author but it got the job done, I guess?