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staticdisplay's review against another edition
4.0
first in the series, we meet main character Bea who's just opening a B&B on an island. her neighbors have been sniping at one another for weeks, so they ultimately end up in court and sentenced to participate in a book group together. it's not going well until someone gets murdered (ha ha). the literary ladies find a body and then decide to get involved in figuring out who's responsible. they also get snowed in, creating a situation similar to their book group reading material - Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
I wasn't keen on the Levi side plot; the interactions between Bea and Levi verged on hostile, with no apparent chemistry, so I couldn't figure out Bea's interest. I wish the cat played more of an active, cute role.
in any case, it's fun to have a group of women and the literary connection. as far as cozy mysteries go, it was fun to read about them all being stuck inside because of the winter storm. I read one of the later stories in the series and there are just a few more books, so I'm planning to read all of them.
I wasn't keen on the Levi side plot; the interactions between Bea and Levi verged on hostile, with no apparent chemistry, so I couldn't figure out Bea's interest.
Spoiler
the resolution was somewhat confusing to me; I couldn't remember at any point in the story Mariah being described as anything other than this flawless bougie lady, but then Chuck or whomever was repeatedly described as a big, sort of bulky dude with an ugly face. hard to envision such a total transformation, by which I mean, doesn't seem to be written consistently. I think first, from a character standpoint, way more interesting to explore this as a guy who's genuinely interested in drag rather than the boring characterization we're presented with, which is that he was a criminal who just became more criminal because duh he was in prison. also written in a kind of unreal way, we have somehow almost randomly found 3 people with a motive to kill this guy all in the same place at the same time. hmm!in any case, it's fun to have a group of women and the literary connection. as far as cozy mysteries go, it was fun to read about them all being stuck inside because of the winter storm. I read one of the later stories in the series and there are just a few more books, so I'm planning to read all of them.
kimsquatch's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-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
2.0
addy1991's review against another edition
3.0
The characters are fun but definitely not ones you'd put together, even though they're not friends from the get-go. Their attempts at sleuthing are a bit clumsy and I'm sure the killer was amused by watching them in action since they seemed to have no clue as to what they were doing. Seem being the 'keyword' because they certainly stumbled across plenty of motives and means. For a sleepy little island community, there seemed to be a lot of secrets ... mischief ... mayhem. Things someone wants not brought to the light of day.
rondabain's review against another edition
5.0
A nice first cozy in the series. I would recommend either having read Murder on the Orient Express before reading....a couple hours with Johnny Depp is not too much to ask. š
maggymags's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I have not read a cosy mystery in a while. A fun read and I will read the next in the series just to see how the characters and their friendship develop. I did not really get a "feel" for them in this book.
alissabar's review against another edition
3.0
What's not to enjoy? A cozy mystery set at a B&B on an island in Lake Erie that involves a book club. A great escape.
2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge #4 A book about a book club.
2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge #4 A book about a book club.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
2.0
The first book in the League of Literary Ladies series has three neighbors in court airing their petty complaints of each other. This isn't a new occurence so, fed up, the judge orders them to start a book club at the library because the judge's wife barges into the proceedings, crying that they're going to lose a grant at the library because they don't have a book club. Yes, seriously. So, the women meet, along with another woman from the town who is just a big reader. When their next weekly meeting comes up, there's a massive snowstorm. Our four main characters leave book club and don't go home, but to the new local Chinese restaurant, where they're all obsessed with this one particular dish. There, they find the owner dead. After dealing with the police, they all go back to Bea's house, which happens to be a B&B and end up crashing there, along with half the town, because the snowstorm knocks out the power and Bea's the only one with a generator.
I'm not going to go on. This book was ridiculous, even for a cozy. The characters were idiots. There were too many people to keep track of and the cook and her daughters seemed to be added to the narrative to add a flimsy excuse for a plot point later in the book. I'm not going to read more of these.
I'm not going to go on. This book was ridiculous, even for a cozy. The characters were idiots. There were too many people to keep track of and the cook and her daughters seemed to be added to the narrative to add a flimsy excuse for a plot point later in the book. I'm not going to read more of these.
girlonthecsaw's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent debut! I was invested by the end of chapter one. The characters are believable and the development of their relationships was fun. I enjoy any book related cozy but the reading selection tie-in to the murder is a clever, fresh approach. I already bought the next two installments in the series.
bookish_yelena11's review against another edition
5.0
This, this is what a cozy mystery is supposed to be. From the first sentence I was hooked, and I actually didnāt guess the ending. Fun characters that kept your interest plus Agatha Christie references done they way the should be. I donāt dish out 5 stars easily or often, but this one definitely earned it!