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christian_faith_and_fiction's review against another edition
4.0
Story Enjoyment Rating: 8/10 Christian Faith Rating: 1/3
A Fool and His Monet by Sandra Orchard is the first book in the Serena Jones Mystery series. It is a Christian mystery novel following Serena who is part of the FBI Art Crime team. She is called in to investigate the theft of two paintings from the museum.
There is a very small amount of Christian faith content in this book.
The mystery was fairly good. I didn’t guess it, and some of the twists and revelations I didn’t see coming at all. It was fairly satisfying.
The friendships/potential relationships were quite interesting. I think this is a storyline that would develop over the whole series. It seemed a little unrealistic to me that one person would have so many people romantically interested in them! However, it did make it more entertaining.
I liked her Aunt, who is really amusing as a character. She wants to help out and solve the mystery but gets herself into trouble.
I enjoyed the characters. So, I may pick up the other books in the series at some point in the future.
A Fool and His Monet by Sandra Orchard is the first book in the Serena Jones Mystery series. It is a Christian mystery novel following Serena who is part of the FBI Art Crime team. She is called in to investigate the theft of two paintings from the museum.
There is a very small amount of Christian faith content in this book.
The mystery was fairly good. I didn’t guess it, and some of the twists and revelations I didn’t see coming at all. It was fairly satisfying.
The friendships/potential relationships were quite interesting. I think this is a storyline that would develop over the whole series. It seemed a little unrealistic to me that one person would have so many people romantically interested in them! However, it did make it more entertaining.
I liked her Aunt, who is really amusing as a character. She wants to help out and solve the mystery but gets herself into trouble.
I enjoyed the characters. So, I may pick up the other books in the series at some point in the future.
lil1smith's review against another edition
5.0
Read twice. Serena Jones has to be one of my favorite relatable, quirky characters ever. And when you throw in a little of Nate, Tanner, Zoe, and her cousin Billy into the mix the result is just about perfect. There's just enough FBI action to appease my love of spy books, and enough clean romance to make me giddy for weeks.
morgangiesbrecht's review against another edition
4.0
Great mystery, characters, and storyline! Love the Britishness of it and the light romance. I prefer Tanner to Nate personally and as a rule I strongly dislike love triangles. The ending seemed a little rushed to me. However, Aunt Martha was amazing - a lovely cross between Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple!
leahegood's review against another edition
4.0
Special Agent Serena Jones is trying to calm her jittery nerves following a painting recovery when she receives a paniced call from her best friend. Two valuable paintings are missing from the storage vault at the museum her friend works for. Serena dives headfirst into the mystery. Getting the paintings back to the museum turns out to be a tall order. The trail is months cold, and Serena has big distractions--like a stalker who might be trying to take her out and a slew of guys trying to impress her.
I purchased this book on a whim. Usually I dismiss anything art related, but I recently spent a week going to museums with a friend of mine who loves art. After several days of geek outs over Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh, I couldn't help but noticed this book at a local homeschool conference. It took me a chapter or two to orient myself when I started reading. I don't read a ton of mysteries, and at first I wasn't sure what to make of Serena's quirky commentary on life. Turns out, it's Serena's unique perspectives that make this story delightful. She's kickbutt without ever being obvious about it, observant, and delightful clueless about guys.
If you enjoy lighthearted, quirky, fast-paced mysteries, this is a no-brainer for your to-read list.
I purchased this book on a whim. Usually I dismiss anything art related, but I recently spent a week going to museums with a friend of mine who loves art. After several days of geek outs over Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh, I couldn't help but noticed this book at a local homeschool conference. It took me a chapter or two to orient myself when I started reading. I don't read a ton of mysteries, and at first I wasn't sure what to make of Serena's quirky commentary on life. Turns out, it's Serena's unique perspectives that make this story delightful. She's kickbutt without ever being obvious about it, observant, and delightful clueless about guys.
If you enjoy lighthearted, quirky, fast-paced mysteries, this is a no-brainer for your to-read list.
meezcarrie's review against another edition
4.0
From the very first chapter, Sandra Orchard immerses her readers into the action, and the atmosphere of suspense remains high throughout A Fool and His Monet. So does the humor. The first person POV allows readers not only to see the action solely from Serena’s perspective but also to peek inside the wry hilarity of her thoughts. The possible secrets surrounding both Great Aunt Martha & Nate - as well as the continuing arc of the cold case murder of Serena's grandfather add to the suspense - and insure that readers will be waiting impatiently for book 2's arrival.
Cozy mystery fans, don’t miss this new series by Sandra Orchard! It’s campy. It’s quirky. It’s full of opportunities to smile. You may even laugh out loud. A hint of a brewing love triangle, plus a bit of intrigue surrounding one of the potential beaus, will appeal to people who also like some romance with their sleuthing. Great-Aunt Martha is quite simply a hoot and will delight readers with her Jessica Fletcher-ing, while Serena wins them over with her endearing personality that’s full of wit and eccentricities. In fact, Serena Jones may be one of my favorite FBI agents to date because she feels real and human and like someone I would want as a friend. While A Fool and His Monet is lighter on the “Christian” and heavier on the “fiction” than most in the genre, sometimes – and in this case – I think that’s totally okay. I highly recommend this book to readers in both the Christian fiction and general fiction markets!
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
Read my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
Cozy mystery fans, don’t miss this new series by Sandra Orchard! It’s campy. It’s quirky. It’s full of opportunities to smile. You may even laugh out loud. A hint of a brewing love triangle, plus a bit of intrigue surrounding one of the potential beaus, will appeal to people who also like some romance with their sleuthing. Great-Aunt Martha is quite simply a hoot and will delight readers with her Jessica Fletcher-ing, while Serena wins them over with her endearing personality that’s full of wit and eccentricities. In fact, Serena Jones may be one of my favorite FBI agents to date because she feels real and human and like someone I would want as a friend. While A Fool and His Monet is lighter on the “Christian” and heavier on the “fiction” than most in the genre, sometimes – and in this case – I think that’s totally okay. I highly recommend this book to readers in both the Christian fiction and general fiction markets!
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
Read my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
sfalk16's review against another edition
4.0
There's nothing but good, clean fun in this book. I enjoyed it from start to finish. There's nothing substantive or particularly clever about a gorgeous-but-she-doesn't-know-it heroine who bumbles into catching the bad guy/gal, but I couldn't help enjoy every page of this book. My inner middle-school girl was satisfied by the hints of romance, and the good-humoured way Orchard wrote the romantic moments made them quite palatable...even enjoyable.
heidi_checkedout's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe my three star is unwarranted because I will admit I am in a bit of a reading rut and nothing I have picked up in the last few weeks as captured my interest at all- but I don't think it's any of the books' faults. I did find some of the characters hard to keep straight- but maybe that was just me and not the storyline. I'll probably give book 2 a try just to be sure.
hopebrockway's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Did y’all know Hallmark makes their own mysteries? I recently learned this fact. This book is how I would imagine a Hallmark mystery. It’s clean, has a strong female FBI detective, a somewhat compelling mystery, and just enough action to rate it PG but not PG-13.
Oh, and there’s a bit of a love triangle.
It also has some art references (thanks, art history for telling me who these people are). Based on the pun in the title, you could probably figure that one out. (Don’t worry, there aren’t many art puns actually in the book. Just so you know. And maybe a warning if you have an aversion to puns.)
The mystery aspect was just what I wanted. It had lots of narrowing down the suspects, doing foolish things for the sake of getting the info, and sitting in cars shadowing people (I love a good stakeout). Plus there were plenty of car chase sequences, attacks from strange men, and mice invasions to keep me on my toes.
The personal life of Serena wasn’t as interesting to me. And, since this took up a large portion of the book, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. While she did spend quite a bit of time on the case, she also spent a bit more time than I wanted with her two potential boyfriends. This is just not really my thing so feel free to discard this rant, but I was just not exactly here for it. She was constantly caught off guard by these two dudes, plus that guy she jogs with, oh, and her friend’s brother . . . So I guess most of the guys in the book. Hmm. So that part was weird and vaguely Hallmark like. Anyway, I was just not a fan of the romance portions.
Okay, they weren’t romantic per-say, but in the next couple of books I’m sure they will be. It was setting up for a romance.
So, all in all, I enjoyed the ride. This book was fun and just what I was wishing for at the time. If you like Hallmark mysteries (or what I suppose Hallmark mysteries are like), then you might want to try these books.
Did y’all know Hallmark makes their own mysteries? I recently learned this fact. This book is how I would imagine a Hallmark mystery. It’s clean, has a strong female FBI detective, a somewhat compelling mystery, and just enough action to rate it PG but not PG-13.
Oh, and there’s a bit of a love triangle.
It also has some art references (thanks, art history for telling me who these people are). Based on the pun in the title, you could probably figure that one out. (Don’t worry, there aren’t many art puns actually in the book. Just so you know. And maybe a warning if you have an aversion to puns.)
The mystery aspect was just what I wanted. It had lots of narrowing down the suspects, doing foolish things for the sake of getting the info, and sitting in cars shadowing people (I love a good stakeout). Plus there were plenty of car chase sequences, attacks from strange men, and mice invasions to keep me on my toes.
The personal life of Serena wasn’t as interesting to me. And, since this took up a large portion of the book, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. While she did spend quite a bit of time on the case, she also spent a bit more time than I wanted with her two potential boyfriends. This is just not really my thing so feel free to discard this rant, but I was just not exactly here for it. She was constantly caught off guard by these two dudes, plus that guy she jogs with, oh, and her friend’s brother . . . So I guess most of the guys in the book. Hmm. So that part was weird and vaguely Hallmark like. Anyway, I was just not a fan of the romance portions.
Okay, they weren’t romantic per-say, but in the next couple of books I’m sure they will be. It was setting up for a romance.
So, all in all, I enjoyed the ride. This book was fun and just what I was wishing for at the time. If you like Hallmark mysteries (or what I suppose Hallmark mysteries are like), then you might want to try these books.
nadoislandgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Fun little read about an FBI agent investigating an art theft. She's far from hard-boiled and her aunt is really the star of the show.