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A review by gorjessina17
Shadows At The Fair by Lea Wait
4.0
'Shadows at the Fair' was an impulse grab at the library and that turned out to be a great read. I really enjoyed this one, mostly because I actually really liked the main character, Maggie. She almost reminded me of myself; probably because we are a similar age and I also like antiques, but she seemed to have a similar mindset to me as well.
None of the characters were super well fleshed out, but considering the length and genre of the book, the author did a nice job giving the reader enough information to work with without being overwhelming. The relationships were a little confusing, but exactly the right amount of complicated for a mystery. We learn about them as Maggie learns about them, a bit here and a bit there, so we ourselves are piecing together the puzzle alongside our heroine.
The mystery turned out really interesting too. I didn’t actually guess who the murder was until close to the end and I had no idea WHY they were killing people until they explained it to Maggie. I always love it when the author can surprise me!
The romance (because there is ALWAYS a romance in cozy mysteries) was rather downplayed in this book. I liked that. It was nice that Maggie didn’t just jump into a romance, especially with a suspect. Considering her backstory, it made perfect sense that she would want to get to know a man before deciding he was the one for her. Logic isn’t usually close at hand for cozy mystery romances, so it was a nice change.
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the repeated use of the word “retarded” and the complete dismissal most of the characters had about mentally challenged people. I can get what the author was trying to do (when you read it in context, it KIND of makes sense) but the fact that everyone except Maggie just shrugged and said “you know those kind of people are unpredictable” really, REALLY bugged me. Considering the book isn’t that old (published in 2002), I would have expected a few more open-minded people.
Overall, this was a nice, quick read. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a fun, easy mystery. I’ll likely pick up the next in the series the next time I’m at the library.
None of the characters were super well fleshed out, but considering the length and genre of the book, the author did a nice job giving the reader enough information to work with without being overwhelming. The relationships were a little confusing, but exactly the right amount of complicated for a mystery. We learn about them as Maggie learns about them, a bit here and a bit there, so we ourselves are piecing together the puzzle alongside our heroine.
The mystery turned out really interesting too. I didn’t actually guess who the murder was until close to the end and I had no idea WHY they were killing people until they explained it to Maggie. I always love it when the author can surprise me!
The romance (because there is ALWAYS a romance in cozy mysteries) was rather downplayed in this book. I liked that. It was nice that Maggie didn’t just jump into a romance, especially with a suspect. Considering her backstory, it made perfect sense that she would want to get to know a man before deciding he was the one for her. Logic isn’t usually close at hand for cozy mystery romances, so it was a nice change.
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the repeated use of the word “retarded” and the complete dismissal most of the characters had about mentally challenged people. I can get what the author was trying to do (when you read it in context, it KIND of makes sense) but the fact that everyone except Maggie just shrugged and said “you know those kind of people are unpredictable” really, REALLY bugged me. Considering the book isn’t that old (published in 2002), I would have expected a few more open-minded people.
Overall, this was a nice, quick read. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a fun, easy mystery. I’ll likely pick up the next in the series the next time I’m at the library.