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A review by meisqr
Yule Log Murder by Barbara Ross, Lee Hollis, Leslie Meier
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
To be fair, I've read this blind as I have not read any of Meier's previous works, but this novella might be the reason I will not pick up any of her other works. I also have not read other works of Hollis and Ross. I've only read up to the second chapter of Hollis' contribution to this novella which was Death by Yule Log. I could not bring myself to continue reading the other stories.
Some things I took note of as I read Yule Log Murder (1.75☆) was Lucy's tendencies to call the pit bull a 'beast' multiple times through the short story, and the fact that there were a lot of characters to keep track of for a novella. A character named Elizabeth was mentioned out of the blue which took me by surprise because it seemed like she was mentioned but really wasn't (maybe she was mentioned in previous books, but like I said, I have not read any of her previous works).
"I can't help being mad at Elfrida for getting herself in this situation. Just when I thought she was pulling herself together, taking good care of the kids and working at a real job instead of all that waitressing and housecleaning, she goes and gets involved in a murder." This line made me get up and walk around the four corners of where I live because it did not feel great to read. I get that these characters did not like her but the underlying tone did not sit right with me.
Among other things, I believe the author writes these characters alright enough, and it seemed like a good enough novella for a cozy Christmas short story, but it was difficult for me to really engage and root for the characters. Even the reveal for the killer seemed so unrealistic. I never thought I'd see the day the 'killer' just admitted what they've done immediately.
As for Hollis' Death by Yule Log, I couldn't continue because I really didn't like the main character's attitude. It was already hard to read through the first short story, and reading through this was harder.
Some things I took note of as I read Yule Log Murder (1.75☆) was Lucy's tendencies to call the pit bull a 'beast' multiple times through the short story, and the fact that there were a lot of characters to keep track of for a novella. A character named Elizabeth was mentioned out of the blue which took me by surprise because it seemed like she was mentioned but really wasn't (maybe she was mentioned in previous books, but like I said, I have not read any of her previous works).
"I can't help being mad at Elfrida for getting herself in this situation. Just when I thought she was pulling herself together, taking good care of the kids and working at a real job instead of all that waitressing and housecleaning, she goes and gets involved in a murder." This line made me get up and walk around the four corners of where I live because it did not feel great to read. I get that these characters did not like her but the underlying tone did not sit right with me.
Among other things, I believe the author writes these characters alright enough, and it seemed like a good enough novella for a cozy Christmas short story, but it was difficult for me to really engage and root for the characters. Even the reveal for the killer seemed so unrealistic. I never thought I'd see the day the 'killer' just admitted what they've done immediately.
As for Hollis' Death by Yule Log, I couldn't continue because I really didn't like the main character's attitude. It was already hard to read through the first short story, and reading through this was harder.