A review by erinnh
Little Mysteries: Nine Miniature Puzzles to Confuse, Enthrall, and Delight by Sara Gran

3.0

 Little Mysteries: Nine Miniature Puzzles to Confuse, Enthrall, and Delight is somewhat of an enigma in itself. I think the subtitle might throw a lot of people off on what to expect from this short story collection. Readers may be expecting classic or straightforward mysteries or whodunnits where they can work out solutions alongside the sleuths, and that isn’t the case for every story in this collection, at least not exactly…

Sara Gran really plays with the genre and format here, and while there are some murders and other crimes to puzzle out here, the mysteries at the heart of these stories are really about exploring the bigger existential questions in life. She uses the genre itself as a tool to explore these questions. I think if you go in knowing you aren’t getting a classic detective collection, but rather more of a genre bending, character-focused, experimental collection, then you won’t be let down.

I happen to appreciate the variation in formats and style, but I will say that some stories were more engaging than others for me personally. In general, I preferred the longer stories (“The Mystery at Killington Manor…”) to the “One-Minute” or “Five-Minute” style mysteries and other briefer forms. In the longer stories, the characters and the themes had more of a chance to shine and were just more impactful. I thought the characters were a lot of fun, and the plays on tropes in detective fiction were entertaining, despite the heavier tone of many of the stories. 

I must admit that I have not read any of Gran’s other works in the Claire DeWitt series, and I have a feeling I am missing a few references and some context that might help me understand some of the stories. I think fans of the series will definitely appreciate this collection, but by no means do you need to have read the prior work to enjoy Little Mysteries.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamland Books for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!*