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amelia_pj's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Just ok.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Violence, and Dementia
wowsmeows's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Murder
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Three people I know recommended this book to me. If they'd led with how funny it is, I might've read it sooner. On the other hand, if they'd led with how corpse-strewn and emotional it is, I might've read it sooner, too. (Basically, what I'm saying is, if you're going to recommend a book to me, please tell me why you think I'd like it. No matter how much I like you, just telling me, "I liked it" won't convince me.) Anyway. This is a funny, emotional, corpse-strewn mystery, and I liked it a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Graphic: Ageism Moderate: Nonconsensual drug use, Euthanasiamayamcdo's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Violence and Murder
aubree_j's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Murder
brieoqueijo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was SO GOOD! Honestly, an amazing surprise, I love all the main character and the resolution of “who did it?” actually surprised me, which is quite hard to do these days. I laughed out laud, cried (twice) and gasped multiple times. I’d run to my roommate to tell her about it and even call my mom. Now I’m giving it to my mom so we can gossip about it. I’m super excited to read the second book and I hope there are more to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation
hullomoon's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.25
I love the multiple POVs and how the book started as a slow burn in part one and continually ramped up in part two. There was a new chapter for each POV change which left some chapters fairly short.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Violence
adyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Such a fun read, would be a great book to get out of a reading slump. Lovable and funny characters, and the mystery is tricky and keeps getting interesting. The characters really are the best part though, I hope to be like them when I’m old and gray!!
that being said there was some internalized fatphobia with chris (one of the police officers), which i was not a fan of. it was frankly unnecessary for the plot and his personal insecurities and consequential character development could have been portrayed in a less insulting way
that being said there was some internalized fatphobia with chris (one of the police officers), which i was not a fan of. it was frankly unnecessary for the plot and his personal insecurities and consequential character development could have been portrayed in a less insulting way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Murder
hsieh's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I found this book via a friend and returned to it after catching Osman on Task Master. Glad I did: it's full of wit and good humor, with a compelling mystery as well. Perhaps a few too many red herrings but with these characters for company, I didn't mind.
Edit: Reading a friend's review, I'm reminded of one character whose running "gag" is that he is overweight and all the other characters keep commenting on it. Sadly it's like every time this character comes up. Very unfortunate.
Edit: Reading a friend's review, I'm reminded of one character whose running "gag" is that he is overweight and all the other characters keep commenting on it. Sadly it's like every time this character comes up. Very unfortunate.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, and Violence
lunep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book affected me quite a bit I think. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to continue it because the writing style was A Choice and I was kinda confused (probably because I tried to start it while there was a bunch of conversation around me), but I'm glad I stuck it out until everything started to make sense (I only needed a couple of chapters until the different plot-lines started to mesh tbf)
This book was...so lovely. I didn't remember the cast was a bunch of elderly people, but they were so funny and lovable, I have to admit I have a soft spot for elderly people. One would think murder mysteries deal a whole lot with making sense of our own mortality, but I think I haven't found one that really does it until this one, and it's not even because these octogenarians are solving a murder, but because they are octogenarians
The plot was full of twists and I didn't even try to figure out who was the murderer (ok maybe just a little, at first I was sure it had been Father Mackie but I even wrote in my note that it seemed to obvious, and for a moment there at the end I was scared it might be Joyce), and to be honest I wouldnt have gotten it, I for sure did not see it coming, but I've come to realize these kind of books dont give enough information to figure it out yourself anyway, so I don't mind never figuring it out, I enjoyed the ride nonetheless tho I did end up a little confused about Ian's murderer reveal. The first story John told the thursday murder club made sense, because they said he worked around there I think? My ipad is charging, I might need to check it later, so like, it checks out that the body they found could have been that guy whose horse John put to sleep; but when they reveal it was actually that asshole from the murder they were investigating when Elizabeth roped Joyce into the club, that Penny had killed...I can believe that, but did they live around there, then? Coopers Chase didn't exist yet, it was stil a convent...so why did Penny bury him in the Garden of Eternal Rest? And then did she decide they should move there to keep an eye out? Like John had said? But John also mentioned something about always going to sit by the hill and then Penny made them stop...idk, that part was confusing to me, if someone reads this and understood better, pls explain?
Also I think the fact that they're 70+ year old pensioners adds to the story, of course, it could work if they were younger and, say, working in the police, like Donna and Chris, but the fact that they're 4 old men and women, who have backgrounds that can help, and whose age definitely helps butter people up...it just makes it funner I think, it also allows, of course, for the characters to have experience to draw from, and that kind of wisdom that comes with age, and I think it elevates the book from just a fun murder mystery (like a Poirot, no shade to Agatha Christie ofc) to a book that also leaves some important insights and messages
I also loved the secondary characters, Donna and Chris, who I already mentioned (I was scared for a moment there that Osman would make them an age-gap couple, but I really enjoyed what he did with their relationship instead), and also Bogdan (who I think is my favorite, he's such a sweetheart in his own way) and Father Mackie, I think Osman did a great job adding them to the POV roster to give more insight into their characters (also? I ended up finding the writing style hilarious, how it can go from one theme to another and it's still easy to follow, it felt kinda like my head) through their backstory, making them maybe not fully fleshed out characters yet, but definitely more than props/means-to-an-end
Also Ian Ventham was a insane character, every time we got his POV I couldnt help but laugh out loud at how much of a horrible human being he was
I think this book definitely became a new favorite, and I might look for it in spanish so my mom can read it
This book was...so lovely. I didn't remember the cast was a bunch of elderly people, but they were so funny and lovable, I have to admit I have a soft spot for elderly people. One would think murder mysteries deal a whole lot with making sense of our own mortality, but I think I haven't found one that really does it until this one, and it's not even because these octogenarians are solving a murder, but because they are octogenarians
The plot was full of twists and I didn't even try to figure out who was the murderer (ok maybe just a little, at first I was sure it had been Father Mackie but I even wrote in my note that it seemed to obvious, and for a moment there at the end I was scared it might be Joyce), and to be honest I wouldnt have gotten it, I for sure did not see it coming, but I've come to realize these kind of books dont give enough information to figure it out yourself anyway, so I don't mind never figuring it out, I enjoyed the ride nonetheless
Also I think the fact that they're 70+ year old pensioners adds to the story, of course, it could work if they were younger and, say, working in the police, like Donna and Chris, but the fact that they're 4 old men and women, who have backgrounds that can help, and whose age definitely helps butter people up...it just makes it funner I think, it also allows, of course, for the characters to have experience to draw from, and that kind of wisdom that comes with age, and I think it elevates the book from just a fun murder mystery (like a Poirot, no shade to Agatha Christie ofc) to a book that also leaves some important insights and messages
I also loved the secondary characters, Donna and Chris, who I already mentioned (I was scared for a moment there that Osman would make them an age-gap couple, but I really enjoyed what he did with their relationship instead), and also Bogdan (who I think is my favorite, he's such a sweetheart in his own way) and Father Mackie, I think Osman did a great job adding them to the POV roster to give more insight into their characters (also? I ended up finding the writing style hilarious, how it can go from one theme to another and it's still easy to follow, it felt kinda like my head) through their backstory, making them maybe not fully fleshed out characters yet, but definitely more than props/means-to-an-end
Also Ian Ventham was a insane character, every time we got his POV I couldnt help but laugh out loud at how much of a horrible human being he was
I think this book definitely became a new favorite, and I might look for it in spanish so my mom can read it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Suicide, Xenophobia, Dementia, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, and Pregnancy