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romanaromana 's review for:
First Class Murder
by Robin Stevens
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4 stars.
(Content warnings: murder (with a knife). Nothing in this review).
I'm three books into this series now and still enjoying myself. However, I do fear that we've reached the peak of my enjoyment, and things will likely cruise at this altitude for the rest of the series. Every murder mystery is different, of course, but given that the general structure is similar, I think I'd be better off trying out a different book/series with fresh characters, setting and style.
It's great news, therefore, that I have recently bought the first in Robin Stevens' newer middle-grade mystery series. So I'm looking forward to that!
All of this is not to say that First Class Murder was uninteresting or unenjoyable by any account. I had a lovely time settling back in with Hazel and Daisy, and I thought the way these clues were revealed and solved was engaging and well-paced. It sounds a bit silly that I am having to say this about a middle-grade mystery, ha, but I have a bad track record with these things...anyway, I was pleased by the clarity of the mystery on this occasion - I wasn't confused at any time, which is great. I also found a lot of the red herrings particularly convincing, which left me guessing right up until the end.
A smaller positive which is worth a mention - I was impressed by the way Stevens managed to highlight racism/xenophobia in this instalment. The presence of Hazel's father certainly helped, but I thought these issues were gracefully integrated, if you will, and it's always great to see authors make an effort to diversify their works within historical settings, which so often have all forms of diversity washed out.
(Content warnings: murder (with a knife). Nothing in this review).
I'm three books into this series now and still enjoying myself. However, I do fear that we've reached the peak of my enjoyment, and things will likely cruise at this altitude for the rest of the series. Every murder mystery is different, of course, but given that the general structure is similar, I think I'd be better off trying out a different book/series with fresh characters, setting and style.
It's great news, therefore, that I have recently bought the first in Robin Stevens' newer middle-grade mystery series. So I'm looking forward to that!
All of this is not to say that First Class Murder was uninteresting or unenjoyable by any account. I had a lovely time settling back in with Hazel and Daisy, and I thought the way these clues were revealed and solved was engaging and well-paced. It sounds a bit silly that I am having to say this about a middle-grade mystery, ha, but I have a bad track record with these things...anyway, I was pleased by the clarity of the mystery on this occasion - I wasn't confused at any time, which is great. I also found a lot of the red herrings particularly convincing, which left me guessing right up until the end.
A smaller positive which is worth a mention - I was impressed by the way Stevens managed to highlight racism/xenophobia in this instalment. The presence of Hazel's father certainly helped, but I thought these issues were gracefully integrated, if you will, and it's always great to see authors make an effort to diversify their works within historical settings, which so often have all forms of diversity washed out.