Reviews

Man, I was so excited for this book, described as a sort of queer “Knives Out.”

But it was such a nothingburger.
It was one of the slowest murder mysteries I’ve ever read, and all that inching along did not increase the tension. The narrator was repetitive, the writing overly descriptive (I really did not need to know what everyone was wearing in every scene), and the plot had zero twists. The story was like “This happened. And then this happened. And then this next thing happened.” I wanted a plot that looped around, tying things together with “aha!” realizations. A lot of the book was the detective going through the list of suspects, interviewing them in different settings.

Also the voice of the novel didn’t seem very 1950s to me. But I had just read Denise Mina’s “The second Murderer” and she nailed that 1940s LA noir, so this book paled in comparison. The palest lavender.

For those wanting more of a slow and scene-setting mystery, this would be more your style. It’s an interesting overall idea.

9/9/23

leanne726's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.5

saffron42's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jennicourn's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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