kerriem3 's review for:

Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison

3.0

---

After 3 books in the series, I'm still on the fence. The mystery is compelling enough, but the stories are muddied with way too many characters (one of whom has 2 aliases in addition to be referred to by his real name during the story). It's never a good sign to have to refer to the family tree at the front of the book more than a couple of times.

I very much like the interaction between the main characters, Mr. Christmas, his daughter, and their housekeeper Madrun (what a name?!). Unfortunately, Ten Lords doesn't give them many opportunities together. I'm disappointed that side character Mairi (Christmas' possible romantic interest) was just written off with a sentence early on. I thought that they had chemistry & I was looking forward to seeing more of a relationship between them.

In addition, I'm really getting tired of the mystery furrounding his wife's murder being mentioned AND NEVER FOLLOWED THRU ON! Honestly, if it's gonna be a 'thing', a clue or two needed to have been introduced by the 3rd book. At this point, it's just annoying. Like that friend that keeps hinting about knowing a big secret rumor, but never actually saying anything. Ugh.

I'll keep reading for the parts that I enjoy, but this series is not on my 'must read' list anymore.