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A review by nicovreeland
The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian
3.0
A cozy mystery that’s a little too cozy for my taste. It spends on a lot of time on what people are eating, what kind of tea they’re drinking, etc. the kind of real-world pleasantries that I unfortunately just find boring in a mystery novel.
The characters are often charming, but the mystery itself unfolds quite slowly, and often the only clue is a look on somebody’s face. There are also a lot of big believability stretches, like the 14-year-old kid who has a family, friends and a full support system but for some reason has to spend several nights with the main character, who he’s known for about 48 hours. In moments like that, the book’s seams open and you can see the gears inside. The story clearly needs those characters to be together for a good chunk, but there’s no good reason for them to be, so instead we have to settle for a (very) flimsy one.
Unfortunately this book just ticks too many of my pet peeve boxes, and the mystery itself isn’t good enough to make up for that.
The characters are often charming, but the mystery itself unfolds quite slowly, and often the only clue is a look on somebody’s face. There are also a lot of big believability stretches, like the 14-year-old kid who has a family, friends and a full support system but for some reason has to spend several nights with the main character, who he’s known for about 48 hours. In moments like that, the book’s seams open and you can see the gears inside. The story clearly needs those characters to be together for a good chunk, but there’s no good reason for them to be, so instead we have to settle for a (very) flimsy one.
Unfortunately this book just ticks too many of my pet peeve boxes, and the mystery itself isn’t good enough to make up for that.