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A review by cpjeanz
Average Jones by Samuel Hopkins Adams
4.0
These Golden Age short story mysteries are just my jam. This one was different that the others in that these are more fun romps than they are guess "who done it" but I thoroughly enjoyed each one. Average is such an intriguing character who's dry humor still brings a smile to my face almost 100 years later. The side characters bring depth to the stories and the world as well. I really wish there were more stories and/or a full novel with Average as the main characters, but, I'm happy I got these stories regardless.
Quick hits:
+ Average is a fun character. His wit, his intelligence and his non pompous lifestyle make for an enjoyable main character. I wish we got to explore more of him.
+ The side characters fill out the world in the individual stories as well as the wider plotline.
+ I really felt like I was in the time period with the characters.
+ A unique twist on the detective story using advertisements and creating characters who were similar to the Golden Age detective and Sherlock, but unique enough they didn't feel derivative.
So why only 4 stars? While I had a bunch of fun with this one, none of the stories are distinctly memorable since I wasn't surprised at the resolutions (or didn't have the association of trying to guess the culprit like a traditional novel). I would highly recommend this to mystery fans, it's very quick and fun which is a good palette cleanser for your hard hitting mysteries! 4/5.
Quick hits:
+ Average is a fun character. His wit, his intelligence and his non pompous lifestyle make for an enjoyable main character. I wish we got to explore more of him.
+ The side characters fill out the world in the individual stories as well as the wider plotline.
+ I really felt like I was in the time period with the characters.
+ A unique twist on the detective story using advertisements and creating characters who were similar to the Golden Age detective and Sherlock, but unique enough they didn't feel derivative.
So why only 4 stars? While I had a bunch of fun with this one, none of the stories are distinctly memorable since I wasn't surprised at the resolutions (or didn't have the association of trying to guess the culprit like a traditional novel). I would highly recommend this to mystery fans, it's very quick and fun which is a good palette cleanser for your hard hitting mysteries! 4/5.