sarahrara's review against another edition
3.0
This cosy mystery is set in a small town in Montana leading up to Christmas, where the local mail woman gets sucked into investigating the death of a local resident whose body she discovers while out on her route.
To be fair, I got roughly what I was expecting out of this. I intend the 3 star rating positively (as pretty much always). It was cute, light and fluffy. At times the writing was a bit stilted and there were a few typos, but overall I enjoyed it. And I would definitely consider reading the next instalment in the series. There’s an overarching backstory that has a cliffhanger at the end of the book, and I found it intriguing enough to want to continue. And the main story is wrapped up satisfactorily, so it’s not like you’re forced to read more books to get the solution to this one. And I totally understand that writers need to do something to keep you hooked for their next book – it’s a tough market out there.
The main characters were interesting enough, though I don’t really feel like we got to know anyone that well. Which was probably due to the fact that it’s a very short book, but also that there were a few too many side characters and I more than once found myself wondering “who is this person again?”. The side characters didn’t have enough of a plot line for them to be justified, so in my opinion it would have worked better if the story was spread over a few main characters.
What made me pick this book over the myriad of other cosy mysteries out there was both the Christmas theme and that it was advertised as a book for animal lovers, and I did very much enjoy the four legged characters in the story as well.
So, as mentioned. this is only the second cosy mystery story I ever read, and maybe this is common in the genre, but it did bother me: Apparently it’s totally acceptable in rural Montana for random non-law-enforcement people to break into a murder victim’s house and go through their stuff and steal their laptop. AND apparently local law enforcement doesn’t find it worth their while to – I don’t know – look through the house of someone who was murdered for clues. I mean I could kind of have gotten on board with the first part if the protagonist desperately needed to clear someone they cared about of the crime and the police weren’t listening to them – but the police was her brother, for crying out loud. And it’s not like he said “I firmly believe x happened and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. Case closed.” So yeah, that bugged me. It was my main beef with the whole book.
It was also pretty much lacking in suspense. I guess that’s where the “cosy” part of cosy mystery comes in, but what I’d really love is something in between this and the “child molester/animal torturer/sadistic psychopath killer” genre which is what most other modern crime fiction/thriller novels seem to be these days. Something clever and suspenseful that doesn’t make me want to hurl or gouge out my own eyes. So, next year Santa, can I have that please?
To be fair, I got roughly what I was expecting out of this. I intend the 3 star rating positively (as pretty much always). It was cute, light and fluffy. At times the writing was a bit stilted and there were a few typos, but overall I enjoyed it. And I would definitely consider reading the next instalment in the series. There’s an overarching backstory that has a cliffhanger at the end of the book, and I found it intriguing enough to want to continue. And the main story is wrapped up satisfactorily, so it’s not like you’re forced to read more books to get the solution to this one. And I totally understand that writers need to do something to keep you hooked for their next book – it’s a tough market out there.
The main characters were interesting enough, though I don’t really feel like we got to know anyone that well. Which was probably due to the fact that it’s a very short book, but also that there were a few too many side characters and I more than once found myself wondering “who is this person again?”. The side characters didn’t have enough of a plot line for them to be justified, so in my opinion it would have worked better if the story was spread over a few main characters.
What made me pick this book over the myriad of other cosy mysteries out there was both the Christmas theme and that it was advertised as a book for animal lovers, and I did very much enjoy the four legged characters in the story as well.
So, as mentioned. this is only the second cosy mystery story I ever read, and maybe this is common in the genre, but it did bother me: Apparently it’s totally acceptable in rural Montana for random non-law-enforcement people to break into a murder victim’s house and go through their stuff and steal their laptop. AND apparently local law enforcement doesn’t find it worth their while to – I don’t know – look through the house of someone who was murdered for clues. I mean I could kind of have gotten on board with the first part if the protagonist desperately needed to clear someone they cared about of the crime and the police weren’t listening to them – but the police was her brother, for crying out loud. And it’s not like he said “I firmly believe x happened and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise. Case closed.” So yeah, that bugged me. It was my main beef with the whole book.
It was also pretty much lacking in suspense. I guess that’s where the “cosy” part of cosy mystery comes in, but what I’d really love is something in between this and the “child molester/animal torturer/sadistic psychopath killer” genre which is what most other modern crime fiction/thriller novels seem to be these days. Something clever and suspenseful that doesn’t make me want to hurl or gouge out my own eyes. So, next year Santa, can I have that please?
cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I really enjoyed this light, cozy book. I especially like the main character, Tess Thomas, who is a mail carrier in the small town of White Eagle, Montana. She has several good friends in the book, but her dog Tilly goes everywhere with her, including delivering the mail and investigating a murder and adds just the right amount of cuteness to the story.
Her best friend Bree comes across as immature, but I appreciate that she and Tess are such good friends. Tess begins investigating the murder as a favor to Bree, but then becomes invested in getting to finding the truth. There seems to be a few loose ends at the end, and I would rate the book 3.5 stars. Overall I really liked this cute Christmas cozy mystery and see the potential for some romance for Tess in future books.
Her best friend Bree comes across as immature, but I appreciate that she and Tess are such good friends. Tess begins investigating the murder as a favor to Bree, but then becomes invested in getting to finding the truth. There seems to be a few loose ends at the end, and I would rate the book 3.5 stars. Overall I really liked this cute Christmas cozy mystery and see the potential for some romance for Tess in future books.
zitahk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
r_lynn13's review against another edition
3.0
An easy Cozy mystery. Not sure I would pursue more in the series, but cute nonetheless.
mamabear41499's review against another edition
4.0
I am on a new journey with the first book in this series by Kathi Daley. I read another of her series and so far so good with this new series. I am just getting to know all the new characters and I already love everyone. Can't wait to continue my journey in this new adventure with Tess & Tilly. I really love these small town stories. I could see myself living there.
debrajoreads's review against another edition
4.0
Adorable little short story. I love the small town and I love the animals. For such a light cozy, I am surprised I never figured out the murderer. Can't wait to read The Valentine Mystery now.
mystereity's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book in the series and if I didn’t already know how great Kathi Daley writes, I probably wouldn’t go further into the series. I liked main character, Tess (and I liked the other characters, except for Bree who acts like she's 13) but this plot was bizarre and convoluted. My estimation is the plot wasn’t developed enough to span the book because there was a lot of detail spent on things that really didn’t matter to the plot and the things that really mattered to the plot felt like they were added as an afterthought. Just ok
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