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se_wigget's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Wow, what a book! I love the main characters--the Undetectables themselves, three witches and a ghost. I love the queer and disabled rep, too. Maybe the author will continue writing about the Undetectables--that would be delightful.
I've never seen the expression "arsebadger" before. I like it. Now I can say, "fascist bigot arsebadgers."
"... tradition is just peer pressure from dead people."
(p. 238)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, and Medical content
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
I am a person with fibromyalgia in a flare reading about a fantasy character with fibromyalgia fighting off a flare and it is everything. This book made me feel so seen! I love the complex relationships between Mallory and her friends, and how they all vow to do better in the future. I love the little nuances sprinkled through that seem inconsequential but become turning points in the book. I love the humour and the love and the depiction of grief. Everything, EVERYTHING in this book was just magical!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Ableism, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Death, and Murder
starrysteph's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.25
The Undetectables was a charming & sweet cozy mystery. Though it had its weaknesses, I loved the dynamic & healthy friendships, the fibromyalgia representation, and the often comedic writing style.
A trio of witch friends are reunited after the first case arrives on the doorstep of the investigative agency they attempted to start as teens: The Undetectables. Their task? Find the killer whose magical whistling causes their victims to choke on their own tongues. Clever and forensically-minded Mallory is navigating life with fibromyalgia, flirty Diana is ready to socially engineer any potential witnesses, and bug expert Cornelia has to try to see clearly through her hatred of police. And Theodore - whose murder was the first they ever witnessed - is eager to assist in ghostly form. He’s also perennially stuck in a cat costume, but don’t mention it. With no leads and no obvious motives, the team has to pull it together and catch The Whistler before they strike again.
The world, lore, and different systems of magic were simple/not super developed, but definitely interesting. I also appreciated the queernormative world and range of identities.
I really enjoyed our quartet of main characters. They’re all smart, they all care about each other, and they’re all doing their best to be good, supportive, accepting friends. However, their characterization was cartoonish at times, with Theodore’s dramatics, Diana’s never-ending parade of ex-girlfriends, the fact that they said things like “unalived”, etc. The characters did feel very young and immature for early 20s, and the humor felt a bit young as well.
I was so happy about the inclusion of fibromyalgia - and an exploration of what it means to have a chronic illness in a magical world. Also what it means for someone who has worked hard to become knowledgeable struggle with brain fog, someone who prides themself on their independence to ask for help and support from friends, and so many more little relatable tidbits.
My biggest stumble was the overarching mystery. I think it was too long and too slow. The villain was frustratingly obvious, and for a trio that was so clever and scientifically advanced it was disappointing that they didn’t manage to put ANY of the pieces together. I felt like I was twiddling my thumbs and waiting for them to catch up to my thought process, which wasn’t super fun.
Finally, one moment that has stuck with me involves the main character doing something needlessly cruel. I understood why it was happening in the moment/it narratively made sense, but in my opinion it was NOT resolved well at all - especially for a book with a lot of plot points around good friendship.
I am overflowing with questions from the ending - and I think I would pick up the next book (if there is going to be a next book) to see how some of the remaining mysteries shake out.
CW: murder, death, animal death, animal cruelty, chronic illness, grief, kidnapping, gore, confinement, toxic relationship, ableism, fire
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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Confinement, Chronic illness, Grief, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
displacedcactus's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This could have been a perfectly OK debut novel except the main character did something crappy for a crappy reason which I found pretty unforgiveable and her friend who she did it to completely forgave her without even a proper grovel.
Spoilers ahoy!
Due to a chronic pain condition, the MC has been kind of left behind by her friends, and one night she's holding the queen of her friend's beloved magic beetle colony and the beetle bites her, and she SQUISHES THE BEETLE QUEEN which causes the rest of the beetles to go into a frenzy, killing each other, and the survivors go dormant waiting for a new queen to emerge. It takes her DAYS to confess to doing this, at which point her friend was all "Oh I already knew you did it because of how sad and guilty you looked anytime someone mentioned the beetles, and I understand you did it because Other Friend and I went to a concert without you, it's ok, I forgive you." And I was like "DOUBLE YOU TEE EFF in what world is it ok to KILL SOMEONE'S PET because you're sad your friends have fun without you?"
Like seriously. If Mallory had killed a cat or a dog, no reader would forgive that. But because it's "just a bug" it's ok? But it's not ok. It wouldn't be OK if someone was upset at being left out by their friends and smashed one friend's car up, or destroyed their favorite sweater or deleted their video game file, let alone killing an important if miniscule living creature, causing serious damage to that creature's colony.
I almost DNFed right when the beetle squishing happened, but I kept reading, because the way it was written with a bit of distance, I almost thought that it would come out that some magic was making her extra volatile, but no. We're never given a satisfying reason beyond "I was pain and my life sucks and my friends have fun without me and this tiny animal did me a tiny hurt so I killed it."
Spoilers ahoy!
Like seriously. If Mallory had killed a cat or a dog, no reader would forgive that. But because it's "just a bug" it's ok? But it's not ok. It wouldn't be OK if someone was upset at being left out by their friends and smashed one friend's car up, or destroyed their favorite sweater or deleted their video game file, let alone killing an important if miniscule living creature, causing serious damage to that creature's colony.
I almost DNFed right when the beetle squishing happened, but I kept reading, because the way it was written with a bit of distance, I almost thought that it would come out that some magic was making her extra volatile, but no. We're never given a satisfying reason beyond "I was pain and my life sucks and my friends have fun without me and this tiny animal did me a tiny hurt so I killed it."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Animal death, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Cursing
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
I went into this book based on an author I like posting about it (Lillie Lainoff), the tagline, and the synopsis. And I wasn't disappointed! I was looking for a unique premise and awesome characters, and this book definitely delivered on both!
Let's get the minor notes out of the way first. I think that this definitely had a slower pace than I expected as a fantasy mystery. There are a few spots in the middle that lagged - but the characters do keep you interested! I think this might be more a debut thing since the author has written more short stories previously. And nothing against the book, but I did guess the villain earlier than the characters.
But my list of good far outweighs those notes!!
- I really loved these characters! They are quirky, badass, and relatable! Mallory is taller than average, Cornelia wears glasses and is blunt, and Diana is plus-size and THEY ARE ALL SMART IN THEIR OWN WAYS. They have their strengths and distinct personalities and they all love each other for who they are. It's honestly one of my favourite friendships I've read.
- queernormative characters - like, lots of them. And there are multiple nonbinary characters with they/them pronouns on page.
- chronic illness rep. Mallory has fibromyalgia and it is part of her character and the plot in a realistic way. It was great to see it part of the story and how it affects her, both physically and mentally. While I don't have chronic illness, I have migraine and pain days and Mallory felt really relatable to me in a lot of ways. Which is amazing to see in a fantasy novel!
- while I did see who the villain was going to be, the backstory and WHY, how it's revealed, were all a surprise to me and well done! I didn't see that route coming honestly.
- Theodore.
While I don't think everyone will LOVE this book, there are definitely people who will appreciate everything I listed above with the mix of magic, witches, and the occult.
Let's get the minor notes out of the way first. I think that this definitely had a slower pace than I expected as a fantasy mystery. There are a few spots in the middle that lagged - but the characters do keep you interested! I think this might be more a debut thing since the author has written more short stories previously. And nothing against the book, but I did guess the villain earlier than the characters.
But my list of good far outweighs those notes!!
- I really loved these characters! They are quirky, badass, and relatable! Mallory is taller than average, Cornelia wears glasses and is blunt, and Diana is plus-size and THEY ARE ALL SMART IN THEIR OWN WAYS. They have their strengths and distinct personalities and they all love each other for who they are. It's honestly one of my favourite friendships I've read.
- queernormative characters - like, lots of them. And there are multiple nonbinary characters with they/them pronouns on page.
- chronic illness rep. Mallory has fibromyalgia and it is part of her character and the plot in a realistic way. It was great to see it part of the story and how it affects her, both physically and mentally. While I don't have chronic illness, I have migraine and pain days and Mallory felt really relatable to me in a lot of ways. Which is amazing to see in a fantasy novel!
- while I did see who the villain was going to be, the backstory and WHY, how it's revealed, were all a surprise to me and well done! I didn't see that route coming honestly.
- Theodore.
While I don't think everyone will LOVE this book, there are definitely people who will appreciate everything I listed above with the mix of magic, witches, and the occult.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship
Bugs, room full of bugspurplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
A unique serial killer thriller in an urban fantasy setting that follows a trio of Gen-Z magical folk as they investigate — a fresh, spooky season read for murder mystery fans!
I picked it up for the tagline: "Be Gay. Solve crimes. Take naps." The writing didn't immediately click for me because I couldn't quite get a feel for the setting and characters, but I stuck with it for the absurdly endearing character of Theodore (an irrepressible ghost stuck in the ridiculous cat costume he died in on Halloween), the excellently portrayed chronic pain rep, and the Gen Z voice of it all. By the end, I found myself hoping that this is going to be the first in a series.
I picked it up for the tagline: "Be Gay. Solve crimes. Take naps." The writing didn't immediately click for me because I couldn't quite get a feel for the setting and characters, but I stuck with it for the absurdly endearing character of Theodore (an irrepressible ghost stuck in the ridiculous cat costume he died in on Halloween), the excellently portrayed chronic pain rep, and the Gen Z voice of it all. By the end, I found myself hoping that this is going to be the first in a series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Body horror, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
ramalam98's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.5
I was gifted a copy of this book by Titan Books. This is my honest review.
A book about three witches and a ghost in a cat costume trying to catch a serial killer? And it’s queer? Sign me up.
I really enjoyed this, the characters are great and the humour is on point (though won’t be for everyone, I’m just corrupted by tumblr). I loved the world-building too, particularly all the little details about the different groups (witches, faeries, vampires…) and their customs.
The main character is disabled, having fibromyalgia. This is at the forefront of the book and she has to deal with the limitations this imposes on her. I really liked this aspect, as well as how queer everything in the book was. The world seems to be queernormative, or at least there are no homophobia plotlines.
The mystery was entertaining, despite me guessing the major reveals. I still like how it was done though.
My main pet peeve about this book is the use of “goddess” where in our world we would say “god”. eg ‘oh my goddess’. This is a general ick of mine in books as it always feels forced to me. Not holding it against the book too much though!!
This is currently a standalone, but had a fairly open ending and I can absolutely see this world being turned into a series where The Undetectables have to solve more crimes!
A book about three witches and a ghost in a cat costume trying to catch a serial killer? And it’s queer? Sign me up.
I really enjoyed this, the characters are great and the humour is on point (though won’t be for everyone, I’m just corrupted by tumblr). I loved the world-building too, particularly all the little details about the different groups (witches, faeries, vampires…) and their customs.
The main character is disabled, having fibromyalgia. This is at the forefront of the book and she has to deal with the limitations this imposes on her. I really liked this aspect, as well as how queer everything in the book was. The world seems to be queernormative, or at least there are no homophobia plotlines.
The mystery was entertaining, despite me guessing the major reveals. I still like how it was done though.
My main pet peeve about this book is the use of “goddess” where in our world we would say “god”. eg ‘oh my goddess’. This is a general ick of mine in books as it always feels forced to me. Not holding it against the book too much though!!
This is currently a standalone, but had a fairly open ending and I can absolutely see this world being turned into a series where The Undetectables have to solve more crimes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
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