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A review by ecstarr
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Atrocious. The book is advertised as a "cozy mystery" but it would be MUCH better if it had just stuck to being cozy. The additional 0.25 star is because I didn't mind the slow slice of life. It would probably succeed in a different genre, but as a murder mystery it is so poorly written I wanted to DNF a third of the way through. I definitely hate-listened to finish it.
The book's exposition is several chapters longer than it needs to be. I wouldn't have minded the slow pace if I didn't know before starting that it was supposed to be a murder mystery (the body isn't even discovered until around chapter 6 or 7). Even after the body is found, the protagonist barely considers it or potential of foul play for another several chapters until the detective starts asking her family questions. I find it hard to believe that she tripped over a dead man, yet somehow the only thing on her mind is how she's going to market her family business's reopening.
Even after she decides to investigate the victim's death, the way she "investigates" is haphazard and ridiculous. She lands on a prime suspect for no reason other than that her best friend can't stand the guy. She asks the most preposterous questions and is INCREDIBLY slow on the uptake. She has no idea what's going on and only finds out information because she's in the right place at the right time. Her version of "questioning" a suspect is to flat out say "did you kill (name)?" And when the suspect obviously responds no, she asks if they're sure.
When the killer is revealed and all the puzzle pieces are explained, there is only one clue that a reader could actually pick up on; the rest were all based on theories that the protagonist creates with no basis in fact. And it's hard to trust her detective skills and intuition when she calls the actual detective incompetent and an idiot for *checks notes* questioning a suspect that has means, motive, and a shaky alibi, just because it's someone she cares about. And she's absolutely shocked that her strategy of telling the detective that "it COULDN'T be him because he's a good person" doesn't get him to completely abandon the questioning. There's an incompetent idiot all right, and it's not the detective.
The book's exposition is several chapters longer than it needs to be. I wouldn't have minded the slow pace if I didn't know before starting that it was supposed to be a murder mystery (the body isn't even discovered until around chapter 6 or 7). Even after the body is found, the protagonist barely considers it or potential of foul play for another several chapters until the detective starts asking her family questions. I find it hard to believe that she tripped over a dead man, yet somehow the only thing on her mind is how she's going to market her family business's reopening.
Even after she decides to investigate the victim's death, the way she "investigates" is haphazard and ridiculous. She lands on a prime suspect for no reason other than that her best friend can't stand the guy. She asks the most preposterous questions and is INCREDIBLY slow on the uptake. She has no idea what's going on and only finds out information because she's in the right place at the right time. Her version of "questioning" a suspect is to flat out say "did you kill (name)?" And when the suspect obviously responds no, she asks if they're sure.
When the killer is revealed and all the puzzle pieces are explained, there is only one clue that a reader could actually pick up on; the rest were all based on theories that the protagonist creates with no basis in fact. And it's hard to trust her detective skills and intuition when she calls the actual detective incompetent and an idiot for *checks notes* questioning a suspect that has means, motive, and a shaky alibi, just because it's someone she cares about. And she's absolutely shocked that her strategy of telling the detective that "it COULDN'T be him because he's a good person" doesn't get him to completely abandon the questioning. There's an incompetent idiot all right, and it's not the detective.