The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
relf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I had high hopes for this 1946 mystery set in Oxford, and it started off amusingly, in an arch tone with a whiff of the Wodehouse about it. The plot was pleasantly ridiculous--our protagonist Cadogan happens on a dead body in a flat above a toyshop, but both body and toyshop have disappeared by the next morning--and I was hoping for an elegantly simple and entertaining solution. Cadogan's colorful friend Gervase Fen, a professor of English, leads the amateur investigation. But the plot got too complicated, I found the resolution unsatisfying, and the archness wore on me--as did the author's 1946 attitude toward female characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death and Gun violence
_shonahenderson's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion
amcnuggett's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The story was interesting with fun characters and enjoyable 4th wall breaks. Very classic whodonit with pleasant romps around the city.Â
It did feel like an attempt at an Agatha Christie novel, especially with the reveal of the murder. The book losses me with it's racism and sexism.
The largest disappointment was the fantastical concept & excerpt with a mundane explanation and execution. The summary pulled me in with a toyshop that disappears! <Spoiler>Expecting some mystical interjection or at least a more shocking reveal. We get instead a simple, oh yeah we're just good at staging plus it's dark; it pulls the air out of your balloon.
It did feel like an attempt at an Agatha Christie novel, especially with the reveal of the murder. The book losses me with it's racism and sexism.
The largest disappointment was the fantastical concept & excerpt with a mundane explanation and execution. The summary pulled me in with a toyshop that disappears! <Spoiler>Expecting some mystical interjection or at least a more shocking reveal. We get instead a simple, oh yeah we're just good at staging plus it's dark; it pulls the air out of your balloon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
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