I found myself all over the place with this one. On the one hand, it used an unique murder weapon, that's for sure. I honestly didn't care much for the characters as the book began but they did grow on me as I got to know them better. I'm not sure if reading the first book in this series would have made a difference. Probably not as it eventually worked as a standalone for me. I did seriously wish they'd find Juno the perfect boyfriend soon, if only so she'd stop obsessing over men so much. Part of her character, true, but it did distract me at times. Phoebe, the writer and possible target of the murder, and her husband Felix, a film producer, seemed genuinely in love even while they also seemed to both push and pull away repeatedly. It's obvious they care for each other. Mil Winterbourne, was younger than the rest but has a crush on Juno that she can't quite bring herself to reciprocate.
These relationships, good, bad, or indifferent, are sidelined when Phoebe's chatty postman Craig is murdered. Let's just say a package he was delivering to Phoebe explodes and kills him. Was he the intended target or Phoebe? Who'd hate either of them enough to kill them in such a dramatic manner? As it turns out, Phoebe does have a long list of potential enemies. She's been stalked before and getting an invite to her own funeral the day before is rather telling about who the intended victim was, I'd say. Phoebe's friends, who've been dubbed the Village Detectives, gather to investigate and then scatter here and there to do so. I won't detail the plot further other than to say the ending was quite intense.
Despite the murder and following events, there is also humor. Just the characters alone provided much of it, especially their thoughts as they encounter others. Juno and Felix combining forces to investigate offered lots of laughs as well as "Uh, oh, what if..." thoughts. And, as over-the-top as Juno's man crazy persona was, I found myself liking her and thinking she'd be someone I'd want on my side. Readers just need to relax and go with the flow, so to speak, and not try to make it all make sense as frequently as I initially did. The theme of cyber stalking is definitely a timely one, so that kept my attention, too. The red herrings are plentiful, as are the twists and turns. While not quite the book for me, 3.5 rounded to 4 stars, it was still an intriguing read with characters you're likely to grow to like. I may make a point of reading the first book now because it's a series that intrigued (yes, there's that word again) me enough to want to know them all more. Thanks #BoldwoodBooks for introducing me to Phoebe, Felix, Juno, and Mil early, not to mention the rest of the cast of characters. That ending was both intense and funny, something hard to make come off but the author managed it well.
No comments:
Post a Comment