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romanaromana 's review for:
Murder at the Museum
by Alasdair Beckett-King
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4 stars.
(Content warnings: murder by poison. Nothing in this review).
That was so much fun. Once again, it's kid crime for the absolute win.
Murder at the Museum's greatest strength is its humour, which comes in abundance through it's bubbling, vivid cast of characters. The star of the show is, of course, Bonnie's her alter-ago, Montgomery Bonbon, who is not only uniquely characterised, but also consistently hilarious every time he speaks. I also loved that Alasdair Beckett-King didn't faff around with over-explaining Bonnie's disguise or how it had come about - we jump straight into it and, as a result, every ounce of fun remains.
Aside from Bonnie and Bonbon, the supporting cast provided lots more laughs, with Grampa Banks being my personal favourite. There was lots of variety in the group and they each drew something different out of Bonnie and the mystery narrative.
Whilst we're talking character, it is also worth crediting Beckett-King's commitment to not just his fun Detective Bonbon, but also to Bonnie herself. I really liked the quieter moments when undisguised Bonnie participates in the mystery herself, and the hints of self-doubt and uncertainty she feels when faced with that challenge. I thought this was explored with enough subtlety to make it seem authentic, and Bonnie's ultimate love for mysteries and for uncovering the truth still drives her actions, so there is no sense of character lost.
The mystery itself was, for the most part, nicely done. As said, I liked the cast so there was lots to be considered as Bonbon investigates, and the suspects' clear ties to the setting and each other made for immediate intrigue. However, the way things wrapped up at the end was what lost this novel a star for me, because the solution seemed to spring out of nowhere. Sure, the clues added up, but not in a way that felt cohesive enough for me to understand how Bonnie actually put it all together so quickly and with the information she had. Some of the clues and evidence seemed too tenuous for her to draw conclusions from, and so ultimately the climax of the book fell a bit short. Such a shame because I was really loving it up until that point.
Final shoutout to Claire Powell for gorgeous illustrations! Characters in particular were really strongly depicted, and I loved spotting all the extra jokes and gimmicks in the illustrations.
I'm definitely going to be looking out for book two because I adore Bonnie/Bonbon and am intrigued to see what other mysteries are in store.
(Content warnings: murder by poison. Nothing in this review).
That was so much fun. Once again, it's kid crime for the absolute win.
Murder at the Museum's greatest strength is its humour, which comes in abundance through it's bubbling, vivid cast of characters. The star of the show is, of course, Bonnie's her alter-ago, Montgomery Bonbon, who is not only uniquely characterised, but also consistently hilarious every time he speaks. I also loved that Alasdair Beckett-King didn't faff around with over-explaining Bonnie's disguise or how it had come about - we jump straight into it and, as a result, every ounce of fun remains.
Aside from Bonnie and Bonbon, the supporting cast provided lots more laughs, with Grampa Banks being my personal favourite. There was lots of variety in the group and they each drew something different out of Bonnie and the mystery narrative.
Whilst we're talking character, it is also worth crediting Beckett-King's commitment to not just his fun Detective Bonbon, but also to Bonnie herself. I really liked the quieter moments when undisguised Bonnie participates in the mystery herself, and the hints of self-doubt and uncertainty she feels when faced with that challenge. I thought this was explored with enough subtlety to make it seem authentic, and Bonnie's ultimate love for mysteries and for uncovering the truth still drives her actions, so there is no sense of character lost.
The mystery itself was, for the most part, nicely done. As said, I liked the cast so there was lots to be considered as Bonbon investigates, and the suspects' clear ties to the setting and each other made for immediate intrigue. However, the way things wrapped up at the end was what lost this novel a star for me, because the solution seemed to spring out of nowhere. Sure, the clues added up, but not in a way that felt cohesive enough for me to understand how Bonnie actually put it all together so quickly and with the information she had. Some of the clues and evidence seemed too tenuous for her to draw conclusions from, and so ultimately the climax of the book fell a bit short. Such a shame because I was really loving it up until that point.
Final shoutout to Claire Powell for gorgeous illustrations! Characters in particular were really strongly depicted, and I loved spotting all the extra jokes and gimmicks in the illustrations.
I'm definitely going to be looking out for book two because I adore Bonnie/Bonbon and am intrigued to see what other mysteries are in store.