jessversteeg's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved Penny’s way of describing things. The beginning chapter has some rather poetic descriptions which captured my attention. It’s an interesting mix of regular murder investigation and poetic Illustrations. I’ll definitely be reading more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
luananki's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
solide vier sterne. comfort krimi, wenn man das so sagen kann, will auf jeden fall den zweiten band lesen
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Violence, and Cancer
Minor: Fatphobia
bmpolito's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I wanted to like this book. I can say that I did enjoy some aspects of the characters but the story was just okay. It felt long and unnecessarily drug out which gave way to boredom. My biggest issue is that this book was written in 2014 and it is filled with anti-fat, ableist, anti-gay, and racist descriptions of characters. A lot of the them are fat (well the female characters) but not described with that exact word. Instead, other characters wonder how they fit through doors or comment on how much food is on their plates or how much they must've eaten. There is the stereotypical, one dimensional gay couple. Bad metaphors using ableist comparisons. It's ridiculous. I can't believe that people rave about this series based on that alone. It's a shame that the characters and setting are ruined by the author's lazy use of outdated and mean tropes. I will not be continuing this series.
If you're looking for a much better cozy mystery, check out The Noodle Shop Mystery Series by Vivien Chien. The first one is titled "Death By Dumpling."
If you're looking for a much better cozy mystery, check out The Noodle Shop Mystery Series by Vivien Chien. The first one is titled "Death By Dumpling."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Ableism, and Fatphobia
beccah42's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Homophobia
Moderate: Murder
princess_azula's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Grief, Death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Homophobia, Hate crime, and Terminal illness
kurumipanda's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, and Hate crime
Minor: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Fatphobia, and Police brutality
shelfofunread's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
saricostanzo's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cancer, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Ableism, Death of parent, and Murder
artmajorese's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A quiet, slow mystery novel set in a quaint Quebecois town littered with artists. There's an extensive cast of locals to keep track of, as well as a handful of police personnel. On the plus side, setting is lovely and inviting. The prose itself was charming.
On the downsides, there are many characters that I would like to kick: Nichol for her patent lack of self-reflection; Gamache for being so lax about suspects being around evidence; teenage boys for being... well, teenage menaces; that niece for being mean to Clara (hopefully the niece is murdered in a future installment). Oh, and I was enraged that they didn't prove that they were trying to solve a murder until nearly 70% of the way through.
Yet I still cheered for Gamache and his team to solve the mystery. And when it came, the solution had a few satisfyingly un-heroic twists. That's probably a controversial opinion. But I enjoyed that Penny undermined the stereotypes of mystery endings.
On the downsides, there are many characters that I would like to kick: Nichol for her patent lack of self-reflection; Gamache for being so lax about suspects being around evidence; teenage boys for being... well, teenage menaces; that niece for being mean to Clara (hopefully the niece is murdered in a future installment). Oh, and I was enraged that they didn't prove that they were trying to solve a murder until nearly 70% of the way through.
Yet I still cheered for Gamache and his team to solve the mystery. And when it came, the solution had a few satisfyingly un-heroic twists. That's probably a controversial opinion. But I enjoyed that Penny undermined the stereotypes of mystery endings.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder and Homophobia
_ingrah's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Murder