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blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I'm enjoying Taylor's Maggie D'Arcy series, I love mysteries, and I'm a genealogist with a keen interest in cemeteries, so O' ARTFUL DEATH seemed like it would be right up my alley. And it is in a lot of ways. In others, it didn't quite meet my expectations. Still, I liked it overall and will continue on with the series.
Sweeney isn't the most warm or appealing character. Although she's only 28, she acts like she's double that age, giving off a serious, fusty, academic vibe. There's nothing wrong with that, since she is a scholar, but it doesn't make her the most exciting heroine in the world. The other characters in the novel are kind of the same - rather ho-hum, without enough development to make them really come alive. I can't say I cared deeply about any of them. As for the cast of artists and models from the past, there are A LOT of them to keep track of, which gets confusing at times.
Plotwise, O' ARTFUL DEATH is rather slow. The story gets bogged down a bit with detail, both concerning cemetery art/symbolism and the history of the Byzantium Art Colony and its residents. Still, it has enough twists to keep the tale from becoming predictable or boring. While I did guess the killer's identity before Sweeney did, I didn't have the motive right and I was wrong about another plot element. I read so many mysteries that it always makes me happy when an author surprises me like that.
All considered, then, I enjoyed O' ARTFUL DEATH. It kept me turning pages. I prefer Taylor's Maggie D'Arcy series, but I'll keep reading this one. I'm interested to see how it evolves and to watch Taylor's writing and plotting improve over time.
If I could, I would give this book 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I'm rounding up.
Sweeney isn't the most warm or appealing character. Although she's only 28, she acts like she's double that age, giving off a serious, fusty, academic vibe. There's nothing wrong with that, since she is a scholar, but it doesn't make her the most exciting heroine in the world. The other characters in the novel are kind of the same - rather ho-hum, without enough development to make them really come alive. I can't say I cared deeply about any of them. As for the cast of artists and models from the past, there are A LOT of them to keep track of, which gets confusing at times.
Plotwise, O' ARTFUL DEATH is rather slow. The story gets bogged down a bit with detail, both concerning cemetery art/symbolism and the history of the Byzantium Art Colony and its residents. Still, it has enough twists to keep the tale from becoming predictable or boring. While I did guess the killer's identity before Sweeney did, I didn't have the motive right and I was wrong about another plot element. I read so many mysteries that it always makes me happy when an author surprises me like that.
All considered, then, I enjoyed O' ARTFUL DEATH. It kept me turning pages. I prefer Taylor's Maggie D'Arcy series, but I'll keep reading this one. I'm interested to see how it evolves and to watch Taylor's writing and plotting improve over time.
If I could, I would give this book 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I'm rounding up.
robynryle's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nice enough mystery. I hope she writes more. The main character is an art historian who specializes in graves, and so you learn some intereting things about that, though I wish there would have been more. This main character could have been a little more well developed and compelling, but nice to have a woman at the center of the mystery, and entertaining enough read.
lisaeirene's review against another edition
1.0
Read 80% of it and gave up when I realized I just didn't care. The writing was not good. It was very juvenile and while bits and pieces of the story were interesting, it was largely not.
quietjenn's review against another edition
2.0
two and a half, really. i agree with the comments saying it was good enough to finish, not good enough to recommend. i'm curious enough to read others in the series to see if there's any character development. i did sort of hate it at first, but it got marginally better. still populated with largely loathsome/annoying people, most of whom i felt like punching at some point in the story. and, lots of the traditional mystery bits seemed fairly by-the-numbers and obvious to genre fans, while other plot points just seemed a little random and bizarre.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read! The main character is intelligent and interesting, as is the plot. The author plays with the archetypes of mysteries to offer a good story. I particularly appreciated a realistic portrayal of an academic: little office, reading proofs, immersed in research.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
My husband read this first. When he finished, he gave it to me and said that it was one of the best books he had read and reminded him of Agatha Christie. This is the first in what seems to be a short or curtailed series. This is the first in the Sweeney St. George series about an art historian and professor who specializes in objects of death - tomb stones, funeral jewelery, etc. In this first book, we meet Sweeney and learn about her somewhat tragic past and her attraction to all things related to death.
When her good friend from college days, Toby, invites her to Vermont to spend Christmas with his friends at the Byzantium Colony, she is reluctant. Christmas for Sweeney generally involves ignoring the holiday.
However, when she sees a photograph of a beautiful young woman who lived near the colony and discovers her bizarre gravestone, she becomes hooked on the mystery. Who killed Mary Denham? Who designed the gravestone that is totally out of place in a Victorian graveyard? And who killed her descendant just before Sweeney arrived in Vermont?
This is a wonderful mystery if you liked mysteries that are very literary and involved. There are a lot of turns and twists that left me guessing until the end although once the story is wrapped up, you realize that you probably should have known all along! The real mystery is why, though, that after four books, she stopped publishing. Perhaps they are too literary. Her most recent book under Sarah Stewart Taylor is 2010 and is a non fiction book for children about Amelia Earhart. However, she now writes under the name of S. S. Taylor and writes adventure stories for children. Perhaps she'll return to writing for adults. I hope so.
When her good friend from college days, Toby, invites her to Vermont to spend Christmas with his friends at the Byzantium Colony, she is reluctant. Christmas for Sweeney generally involves ignoring the holiday.
However, when she sees a photograph of a beautiful young woman who lived near the colony and discovers her bizarre gravestone, she becomes hooked on the mystery. Who killed Mary Denham? Who designed the gravestone that is totally out of place in a Victorian graveyard? And who killed her descendant just before Sweeney arrived in Vermont?
This is a wonderful mystery if you liked mysteries that are very literary and involved. There are a lot of turns and twists that left me guessing until the end although once the story is wrapped up, you realize that you probably should have known all along! The real mystery is why, though, that after four books, she stopped publishing. Perhaps they are too literary. Her most recent book under Sarah Stewart Taylor is 2010 and is a non fiction book for children about Amelia Earhart. However, she now writes under the name of S. S. Taylor and writes adventure stories for children. Perhaps she'll return to writing for adults. I hope so.
sdc46250's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book for cozy readers. Cozies are not my cup of tea usually so it is saying something that I was compelled to finish it. Superb plot development and the solution was a major surprise in the last chapter.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
O' Artful Death is the debut novel in a mystery series by Sarah Stewart Taylor. The series stars Sweeney St. George, an art historian from Boston who teaches on the art of death. She has had a life full of difficult, emotional relationships and prefers to put all her energy into teaching and her interest in cemetery art. Her best friend shows her a picture of a beautifully carved gravestone that looks more like a statue than a headstone and Sweeney is immediately intrigued by the oddities of the piece. The headstone incorporates imagery that is out of place for the time (Victorian era) and she is even more interested when she finds that there are rumors that the young woman whose grave it marks may have been murdered.
Her friend reveals that the stone is located in a cemetery near his home and he invites Sweeney to spend Christmas with his family and friends. Reluctant to be mixed up in a family atmosphere, she first calls the descendent of the dead woman to find out more of the story. Their conversation is interrupted and when Sweeney calls back the next day, she finds that the woman has died--apparently of a self-inflicted gun shot. The art historian decides that there are too many mysteries for her inquisitive scholarly mind to pass up and she heads wither her friend to a mansion in the historic Byzantium Art Colony. She plans to investigate the local archives and question any long-standing residents to see if she can hunt down the artist who created the piece. She doesn't expect to stir up ancient crimes with a link to those of a more modern nature....and she certainly doesn't expect to find her self in danger of joining the dead in the mysterious graveyard.
This is a very decent first novel. Sweeney is a flawed central character with lots of backstory and lots of emotional issues to work on in future novels. She's a smart woman and walks the fine line between the classic damsel in distress (walking into all sorts of danger without letting anyone know what she's doing) and the ultra-confident, "expert" amateur who can take on whatever villain may come and never have a problem. There are several red herrings--one commenter seems to think there's only one and it's TOO obvious--but for anyone paying attention, there are more. I managed to latch on to the main clue/s and knew who the culprit was before the grand finale, but I didn't figure out quite all of the story. Kudos to Ms. Taylor for maintaining some of the mystification until the end. I look forward to reading more of the series. Three stars.
This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.
Her friend reveals that the stone is located in a cemetery near his home and he invites Sweeney to spend Christmas with his family and friends. Reluctant to be mixed up in a family atmosphere, she first calls the descendent of the dead woman to find out more of the story. Their conversation is interrupted and when Sweeney calls back the next day, she finds that the woman has died--apparently of a self-inflicted gun shot. The art historian decides that there are too many mysteries for her inquisitive scholarly mind to pass up and she heads wither her friend to a mansion in the historic Byzantium Art Colony. She plans to investigate the local archives and question any long-standing residents to see if she can hunt down the artist who created the piece. She doesn't expect to stir up ancient crimes with a link to those of a more modern nature....and she certainly doesn't expect to find her self in danger of joining the dead in the mysterious graveyard.
This is a very decent first novel. Sweeney is a flawed central character with lots of backstory and lots of emotional issues to work on in future novels. She's a smart woman and walks the fine line between the classic damsel in distress (walking into all sorts of danger without letting anyone know what she's doing) and the ultra-confident, "expert" amateur who can take on whatever villain may come and never have a problem. There are several red herrings--one commenter seems to think there's only one and it's TOO obvious--but for anyone paying attention, there are more. I managed to latch on to the main clue/s and knew who the culprit was before the grand finale, but I didn't figure out quite all of the story. Kudos to Ms. Taylor for maintaining some of the mystification until the end. I look forward to reading more of the series. Three stars.
This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.