Murder mystery tropes, tropes and more tropes, Horowtiz gleefully tosses them in right and left and even slyly pokes you in the ribs to be sure you knMurder mystery tropes, tropes and more tropes, Horowtiz gleefully tosses them in right and left and even slyly pokes you in the ribs to be sure you know HE knows that he's doing it. A great fun romp, in his familiar book- within-a-book style. Very intricate, very clever, highly recommend....more
I usually love the books in this series; I can see the fictional town in my mind and feel I know many of the characters. It's great how people from eaI usually love the books in this series; I can see the fictional town in my mind and feel I know many of the characters. It's great how people from earlier books become incorporated into the life of St Denis. The food descriptions suggest that the series should come with a trigger warning "Do Not Read on an Empty Stomach."
This one, though, was a disappointment. It started fine, but after that, there were too many plot threads, too many characters and too much of a dump of detailed history (and I usually like the history that's entwined in the plots). It almost felt like Walker had multiple books/plots left over from other projects, and sort of smashed them all together here.
Spoilers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . There was so much build-up to the dignitaries visiting town to see the grave, and then nothing really happened and it didn't add much to the plot except to allow for more a history of the Resistance. "Will there be enough seats at lunch?" was the most suspense we got up until the flood.
Some of the plot threads were left hanging, including the cybercriminal family, whose existence and machinations did not make much sense anyway. Why were they hacking the mayor's office? Was the hacker's ex-wife involved? If not, why was his whole family stalking her? Also, why did Bruno almost collapse during a run? Was his subsequent hospitalization related?
All very frustrating from a beloved series....more
I went in expecting mystery, and got farce. Reminds me a lot of the late great Michael Dibdin's Cosi Fan Tutti - all sorts of odd threads where you woI went in expecting mystery, and got farce. Reminds me a lot of the late great Michael Dibdin's Cosi Fan Tutti - all sorts of odd threads where you wonder how they'll tie together at the end but they (mostly) do. Was it all a bit too ridiculous toward the end? Yes. But the characters are, as usual, wonderfully drawn, with unique voices. One or two minor characters could have been cut to help the reader keep up, but the major ones are amazing, particularly the elderly Lady who rules the manor house around which most of the plot revolves.
Absolutely her funniest novel yet. As someone else mentioned, there were a lot of times I laughed out loud. Due to the number of characters and convoluted plot, read this one over a day or two at most, and read it alone or with people who won't mind you laughing randomly. ...more