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abalderson's review against another edition
3.0
My first Alexandra Benedict book and I did thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a cosy murder mystery that made for a really good alternative Christmas read to the traditional christmassy romances.
While I did enjoy the plot and grew to love each of the characters in their own way, I did find parts of the book a little confusing and repetitive. There are a lot of characters to get your head round at first and it didn’t help that two of the main characters have very similar names; Lily & Liliana. It then became very repetitive throughout the storyline which was a little annoying.
The plot was very cleverly written with each of the different riddles and also the riddles for the readers to find but that started to make the book harder to follow and made me loose a bit of interest. The writing also flips between 3rd and 1st person a lot adding to it not being an easy read.
Whilst there were also intriguing twists and turns, I did find the main ending quite predictable and was able to guess the outcome early on. However, there was a secondary twist in the ending which did catch me off guard and I found shocking, hooking me till the end. I do also think the ending could have answered more questions as I did feel like there was still a lot to resolve and it was left quite open ended with no hint as to a second book.
Overall it was a good murder mystery Christmas read which I would recommend, but it is one you have to really pay attention too rather than an easy to follow along traditional Christmassy read.
While I did enjoy the plot and grew to love each of the characters in their own way, I did find parts of the book a little confusing and repetitive. There are a lot of characters to get your head round at first and it didn’t help that two of the main characters have very similar names; Lily & Liliana. It then became very repetitive throughout the storyline which was a little annoying.
The plot was very cleverly written with each of the different riddles and also the riddles for the readers to find but that started to make the book harder to follow and made me loose a bit of interest. The writing also flips between 3rd and 1st person a lot adding to it not being an easy read.
Whilst there were also intriguing twists and turns, I did find the main ending quite predictable and was able to guess the outcome early on. However, there was a secondary twist in the ending which did catch me off guard and I found shocking, hooking me till the end. I do also think the ending could have answered more questions as I did feel like there was still a lot to resolve and it was left quite open ended with no hint as to a second book.
Overall it was a good murder mystery Christmas read which I would recommend, but it is one you have to really pay attention too rather than an easy to follow along traditional Christmassy read.
ageekmimi's review against another edition
4.0
Ero indecisa tra le 3 e le 4 stelle, il libro è ben scritto, scorrevole e coinvolgente... peccato per il fatto che sia un po' prevedibile. In generale è una lettura piacevole e lo consiglierei agli appassionati di enigmi e gialli.
leasummer's review against another edition
3.0
This is a pretty depressing and the main character isn’t overly likable, which makes it hard to care if she lives or dies as everyone around her dies one by one. I didn’t understand the fetus and why it was a character, unless it was to tie her to her mother even further.
At the start I didn’t realize it was set in modern day, but that quickly became obvious with mentions of cell phones and cars.
I don’t think there’s one thing likable about any of the characters. But the mystery did keep me guessing. The ending wasn’t all that satisfying. It’s a dark story that isn’t that much of a thriller as it’s pretty predictable.
At the start I didn’t realize it was set in modern day, but that quickly became obvious with mentions of cell phones and cars.
I don’t think there’s one thing likable about any of the characters. But the mystery did keep me guessing. The ending wasn’t all that satisfying. It’s a dark story that isn’t that much of a thriller as it’s pretty predictable.
elsie_1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
jerrysideburns's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is insane. Why the hell would you continue solving mysteries when there's a murderer in the group?!
logophile_life's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
1.0
johngeebair's review against another edition
4.0
This book is full of fun riddles and puzzles and murdering family members during the holidays.
ceena's review against another edition
3.0
2.5, rounded to 3 because I did read to the end I just skimmed... a lot.
emkral22's review against another edition
3.0
A little disappointed. This didn't really give me what I wanted- it wasn't very Christmassy, the plot dragged a little, the twists/reveals seemed a little obvious, but it was fine enough.