Reviews

This was a fun read, though I didn't always enjoy the story within a story (within a story) aspect. Susan is suitably ridiculous and the whole novel reads as a love letter to the genre.

samdustin97's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense 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? No

4.25

bookish_arcadia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

romonko's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-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? No

3.5

I am watching the adaptation of this book on Masterpiece right now, and found it difficult to understand due to continuous cutouts from the fictional Atticus Pund’s investigation into two murders that occurred in a fictional English manor. These sidebars into fiction continually cut into the main mystery. I decided to listen to the book on audio to see if the story would become clearer. The book did help me understand both mysteries and also the juxtaposition of two murder mysteries in the same book. Horowitz has followed this type of plot twist before in his previous book The Magpie Murders. I found this book extremely long because the entire Atticus Pund mystery is encapsulated in the main story which is an eight year old murder and a disappearance eight years later from the same hotel where thAt murder occurred. Ex-literary agent Susan Ryland has been asked to investigate the disappearance by the family of the missing woman. The book is very complex and long and it just took too long to get to the solution. I lost track of the plot a couple of times whilst I was listening. The book is well-written and very, very clever which is not the usual expectation for most detective fiction readers. Two mysteries, four separate murders, and a whole entourage of disturbing and unlikable suspects makes for a harrowing denouement.

jillybeans's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

janejanejane3534's review

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4.0

4.5 Another fun one from Horiwitz!

hollewade's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I love the two different readers for the books, also just love Lesley Manville as Susan.

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