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melindamm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
perks2023's review
1.0
***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A poor mystery, written poorly.
So much of what makes a good murder mystery is attention to detail and compelling characters - neither of which are present here.
If you’re going to include “facts” in your writing, you’d better make sure they’re true - “Bobby” is not Scottish slang for a “piece of shit”. It is children’s slang for penis. Possibly the author was thinking of “jobby” - assuming they were thinking at all. This lack of detail is jarring to a reader who knows better, and makes your main character (who is supposed to be knowingly explaining this) look silly.
The characters are flat and uninteresting, collectively they only seem to have one gear and little nuance. The murder victim is unlikeable - which is not in of itself an impossible quality, but his unlikeability is so pantomime you can’t get past it. Anytime a character has to explain their actions they go about it as if they are reading from a reference book. The English police inspector is such a cardboard cutout stereotype I’m surprised he doesn’t fall over - no one this side of Enid Blyton, even in Devon, is going to say “toodle pip” once, let alone multiple times.
A poor mystery, written poorly.
So much of what makes a good murder mystery is attention to detail and compelling characters - neither of which are present here.
If you’re going to include “facts” in your writing, you’d better make sure they’re true - “Bobby” is not Scottish slang for a “piece of shit”. It is children’s slang for penis. Possibly the author was thinking of “jobby” - assuming they were thinking at all. This lack of detail is jarring to a reader who knows better, and makes your main character (who is supposed to be knowingly explaining this) look silly.
The characters are flat and uninteresting, collectively they only seem to have one gear and little nuance. The murder victim is unlikeable - which is not in of itself an impossible quality, but his unlikeability is so pantomime you can’t get past it. Anytime a character has to explain their actions they go about it as if they are reading from a reference book. The English police inspector is such a cardboard cutout stereotype I’m surprised he doesn’t fall over - no one this side of Enid Blyton, even in Devon, is going to say “toodle pip” once, let alone multiple times.
mombohan's review
3.0
A great story, particularly if you’ve ever walked the SW Coastal Path — it brings you right there!
dsauriol1991's review against another edition
4.0
Took a step out of my usual to read a murder mystery and it was pretty good! The characters were all interesting and I liked the MC Chase. I did guess who the murderer was very early so I do feel validated!
garrett_7926's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
nnbb's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
bethfishreads's review
3.0
An enjoyable cozy mystery starring a retired US police detective but set in the UK. This is the start of a new series.
Chase, a 60-something retired San Diego police detective is in Devon with his friend Billie to take a walking tour. Chase is still grieving the death of his husband, and Billie (a woman) is hoping this trip will help him find some peace.
Chase and Billie have taken a number of walking tours together, but the other people in the group are new to this type of vacation. Each person or couple seems to have issues, but none are so disagreeable as Mr. Gertz, who owns a number of assisted living communities/facilities in the US and UK.
When a member of the group is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, Chase--with the permission of the local cops--puts his detective cap back on and helps solve the murder.
The setup of the murder, the clues, the investigation, and the red herrings are fairly well done. The murderer was on my list of suspects, but I wasn't able to guess the solution with confidence. Chase and Billie are likeable characters, and I assume we'll see them again as the series continues.
Unfortunately, the writing style is a bit uneven. The romance aspect was a little lacking and somewhat more juvenile than I would have expected from the character in question (avoiding spoilers). These issues put me on the fence for reading book 2.
This was solid 3-star read for me.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
Chase, a 60-something retired San Diego police detective is in Devon with his friend Billie to take a walking tour. Chase is still grieving the death of his husband, and Billie (a woman) is hoping this trip will help him find some peace.
Chase and Billie have taken a number of walking tours together, but the other people in the group are new to this type of vacation. Each person or couple seems to have issues, but none are so disagreeable as Mr. Gertz, who owns a number of assisted living communities/facilities in the US and UK.
When a member of the group is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, Chase--with the permission of the local cops--puts his detective cap back on and helps solve the murder.
The setup of the murder, the clues, the investigation, and the red herrings are fairly well done. The murderer was on my list of suspects, but I wasn't able to guess the solution with confidence. Chase and Billie are likeable characters, and I assume we'll see them again as the series continues.
Unfortunately, the writing style is a bit uneven. The romance aspect was a little lacking and somewhat more juvenile than I would have expected from the character in question (avoiding spoilers). These issues put me on the fence for reading book 2.
This was solid 3-star read for me.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
evau's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Read via access from NetGalley with thanks to Kensington Books for providing a copy of the book to review.
This is the first book with Rick "Chase" Chasen (I am not sure if this will be a series but I hope it will be) as the main detective. He is a retired detective from America on a holiday in England while still working through the death and grief of his partner (romantic partner not police partner). Aside from being a well constructed cozy mystery, I enjoyed development of the main character getting a chance to try a new romance where often middle-aged and older queer characters do not get the opportunity to.
I do hope that this becomes a series and look forward to reading more of Chase's mysteries.
This is the first book with Rick "Chase" Chasen (I am not sure if this will be a series but I hope it will be) as the main detective. He is a retired detective from America on a holiday in England while still working through the death and grief of his partner (romantic partner not police partner). Aside from being a well constructed cozy mystery, I enjoyed development of the main character getting a chance to try a new romance where often middle-aged and older queer characters do not get the opportunity to.
I do hope that this becomes a series and look forward to reading more of Chase's mysteries.
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