Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Agathas

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Agathas by Liz Lawson, Kathleen Glasgow

57 reviews

tigger89's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I can see why some people would really like this book, but it didn't hold a lot of appeal to me. I thought the mystery was well done, particularly some of the reveals leading into the climax. I wasn't really a fan of the wealthy community setting, but I think it was used well even though I didn't personally like it. The fact that we had two narrators was used to great dramatic effect plot-wise, though I did find their narrative voices difficult to tell apart. The chapters are labeled with their names, but sometimes if I got distracted I'd forget partway through a chapter who I was following, and I'd have to flip back until I found a clue to remember, oh yeah, this is Iris or this is Alice.

I was somewhat disappointed that the involvement of Christie was limited mostly to literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and the fact that the main characters like her books. This might have been an unfair expectation on my part, based on the marketing for the book, but I was expecting something where specific scenes or twists would be referenced from Christie's canon to apply to the situation at hand. That didn't really happen, apart from the most general inspirations. But this really is kind of a quibble. If I'd read a different blurb that didn't stress Christie's importance so much, I don't think I would have complained about this at all. Blame it on the marketing!

The other thing that I couldn't help but laugh at is the chase at the climax. If you know, you know. The whole time I was like, that's not how horses work! None of this is realistic for your relationship/trust level with this ~~panic machine~~ horse! It's a silly horse girl fantasy moment in an otherwise serious title, which sticks out. But again it's not a major complaint, and the unrealistic nature of the climax doesn't really affect the mystery itself, just the drama surrounding it.

All in all, I didn't like the book, but I think that's more down to us not being for each other than any significant fault in the book itself. There is definitely a kind of person out there who would be very into this story. In fact, if I'd had this book in my hands 20 years ago, I know exactly which girl in my scout troop I would've handed it to. It's just not my thing, and that's okay.

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janneke2302's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I really loved this book. I loved the friendship that formed between Alice and Iris. I also thought the mystery was a lot of fun. I started having suspicions and figuring things out much earlier than the characters, but I actually really liked that. I feel like the book left just enough hints and clues that you could figure it all out, without becoming boring or predictable. I also really loved all the references and nods to Agatha Christie. While I've not read any of Christie's novels, I have very fond memories of my mom watching episodes of Poirot while I was in the room and this book kind of brought me back to then.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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hannahfaith25's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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bailey_the_bookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective 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

4.25

I enjoyed a YA book! Will wonders never cease. The story is fast-paced, well-written, and hard to put down. The class tensions of the town and high school feel archetypal without being (overly) clichéd, and the tensions between the main characters are drawn out nicely throughout the book.

Some of the clues in the writing felt a little ham-handed (Steve! Was acting! Weird! Was Steve acting weird? Steve was acting so weird!!), but on the whole it was a really fun read.

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spaghettii's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Definitely left the ending open for more books 👀
Shipped the main characters so hard but I'm thinking they're both straight, unfortunately.

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ptaradactyl's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is very definitely YA, with the drama cranked up to 11. And these kids were way more sophisticated than I ever was in high school. Still, a fun read that makes me want to dive in the sequel.

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