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krilves 's review for:
Murder at the Theatre Royale
by Ada Moncrieff
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Kind of boring tbh - I didn’t like Daphne much as a protagonist (she was very vain - not in terms of looks, but in aspirations, daydreaming about accolades for solving crimes etc) and to be honest I thought the mystery fell a little flat so it was hard to buy into the portrayal of her as a genius. She’s compared to Sherlock Holmes a few times and I think I’d have liked that comparison better if more care had been taken in establishing the breadth of her knowledge and skill.
What bothered me though was the slips and inconsistencies - Daphne being woken up by sun in her face at five to six in the morning, two days after the winter solstice, when famously the sun does not actually rise until eight in the morning?? Or how about, Daphne goes to meet somebody at 4pm, stuff happens, more stuff happens, and then she checks the time and it is…4pm. Hmm. I’m also puzzled by how when Daphne goes to Surrey she thinks she can be dropped off in Slough on the way back to London, as going to Slough would be out of the way and not actually “on the way back”. It was frustrating and irritating to come across these inconsistencies so often because the result is that I didn’t trust there was much coherence between the clues and the mystery and how it came together. And as it was, I just didn’t gel with it.
I did like the character of Veronica, who came across very obviously queer to me and the hint of Daphne going on a date with her at the end, but it also felt too subtle - it could be interpreted very heterosexually after all…
Idk, this didn’t hit the mark for me in many ways. How many Christmassy murder mysteries do I have to read to find a good one???
What bothered me though was the slips and inconsistencies - Daphne being woken up by sun in her face at five to six in the morning, two days after the winter solstice, when famously the sun does not actually rise until eight in the morning?? Or how about, Daphne goes to meet somebody at 4pm, stuff happens, more stuff happens, and then she checks the time and it is…4pm. Hmm. I’m also puzzled by how when Daphne goes to Surrey she thinks she can be dropped off in Slough on the way back to London, as going to Slough would be out of the way and not actually “on the way back”. It was frustrating and irritating to come across these inconsistencies so often because the result is that I didn’t trust there was much coherence between the clues and the mystery and how it came together. And as it was, I just didn’t gel with it.
I did like the character of Veronica, who came across very obviously queer to me and the hint of Daphne going on a date with her at the end, but it also felt too subtle - it could be interpreted very heterosexually after all…
Idk, this didn’t hit the mark for me in many ways. How many Christmassy murder mysteries do I have to read to find a good one???