A review by rachelsread
The Mystery of the Crooked Man by Tom Spencer

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was one of those books where you love and hate the main character in equal measure, which truly is an incredible feat of writing on the author's behalf. There were many moments where I truly hated Agatha for her arrogance, callousness, obliviousness, etc. but I still couldn't help but root for her (the fact that she's a queer MC certainly helped!) The "mystery" was interesting and just the right level of confusing for you to feel just as lost as Agatha was while she searched for the answers which kept me hooked from the very first sentence. The only downside to this book was the identity of the "Crooked Man", a person which I already suspected from the very first chapter due to a particular memory of Agatha's. Although that was definitely disheartening, I still enjoyed the rest of the story as despite knowing who the killer was, I had no idea what their motives behind their actions were, and it was interesting to find out - as well as to suddenly realise how all of the supposedly individual subplots were interconnected!