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iseefirede's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Very mid book. It's not the worst book I've read but it also wasn't very interesting or challenging. If you want a cozy mystery this would probably work for you. But ultimately, there was so much potential that just wasn't used.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Suicide, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment
hmetwade's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
whewtaewoon's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, and Murder
chris_reads's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
This had a lot more depth and humor than the simple mystery I expected it to be. The family dynamics and musings on Chinese diaspora in New York were really well done. And I found the discussions concerning privacy/identity in online spaces very interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Stalking and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Murder
childhood neglectallleycat's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Stalking, and Murder
alreads13's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia and Grief
pey333's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Abandonment
Minor: Racism and Stalking
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.0
Oh I'm so glad I got this from BOTM! This was a fun, borderline cozy, mystery with a lesbian MC and very interesting immigrant family dynamics. I'm always down for some Big Tech hijinks, and this delivers in spades.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Stalking
hales230's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
I got an email from Bookshop advertising this book, and even though I know it was just a mass marketing email, it still felt like a very targeted ad, and I literally wound up buying this book immediately. One of my all-time favorite authors, Emily St. John Mendel, blurbed this book, and the summary compared it to Veronica Mars, one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Add in a queer, English major main character whose main focus was Jane Austen and who is obsessed with her favorite fictional detective, and I swear there's no way this book could've hooked me more.
The premise of this novel is so fascinating, and Jane Pek's world-building of an entirely fictional (though definitely based in reality) online dating sphere was really well done. And I absolutely love how Claudia is recruited for Veracity, a mysterious online dating detective agency - it's exactly the type of thing I would expect from such an odd company. The description of this novel describes it as "part literary mystery, part family story" and that is a really accurate description. I loved reading about Claudia's family just as much as I did Veracity and the mystery she was trying to solve, and I feel like Pek did a fantastic job creating dynamic characters that you feel all sorts of complicated ways about and who you can understand. This is as much about the struggle of Claudia's family's experience as immigrants and their differences as it is about her attempting to solve the mystery of a client's disappearance. It is heartfelt and real and emotional.
I also loved Claudia, the amateur detective who thinks she has a great handle on how to solve this case, and yet messes it up here and there. It really does remind me of Veronica Mars a lot in that way, especially the first season where Veronica's trying to solve the murder of her best friend and absolutely gets in over her head a lot, but she just cares so much about trying to figure it out that she'll dive headfirst into things. There are a lot of similarities between her and Claudia - I'm not sure if I see them more clearly because I also happened to be rewatching Veronica Mars at the same time as I picked up this book, but the parallels are definitely there.
I really enjoyed this book, but there was something that kept me from feeling fully hooked and invested in the story, and I don't know exactly why. I think maybe Pek's writing style just doesn't 100% work for me, but I wanted it to grab me a little more from the get-go. I'd be really interested to see if this continues as a series, or at least gets a sequel, though, because I think there is room for it, and I'd love to read more of this author's work.
The premise of this novel is so fascinating, and Jane Pek's world-building of an entirely fictional (though definitely based in reality) online dating sphere was really well done. And I absolutely love how Claudia is recruited for Veracity, a mysterious online dating detective agency - it's exactly the type of thing I would expect from such an odd company. The description of this novel describes it as "part literary mystery, part family story" and that is a really accurate description. I loved reading about Claudia's family just as much as I did Veracity and the mystery she was trying to solve, and I feel like Pek did a fantastic job creating dynamic characters that you feel all sorts of complicated ways about and who you can understand. This is as much about the struggle of Claudia's family's experience as immigrants and their differences as it is about her attempting to solve the mystery of a client's disappearance. It is heartfelt and real and emotional.
I also loved Claudia, the amateur detective who thinks she has a great handle on how to solve this case, and yet messes it up here and there. It really does remind me of Veronica Mars a lot in that way, especially the first season where Veronica's trying to solve the murder of her best friend and absolutely gets in over her head a lot, but she just cares so much about trying to figure it out that she'll dive headfirst into things. There are a lot of similarities between her and Claudia - I'm not sure if I see them more clearly because I also happened to be rewatching Veronica Mars at the same time as I picked up this book, but the parallels are definitely there.
I really enjoyed this book, but there was something that kept me from feeling fully hooked and invested in the story, and I don't know exactly why. I think maybe Pek's writing style just doesn't 100% work for me, but I wanted it to grab me a little more from the get-go. I'd be really interested to see if this continues as a series, or at least gets a sequel, though, because I think there is room for it, and I'd love to read more of this author's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Stalking
cassielaj's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I resolved to finish this book to see how it ended, but by the time I was nearing that point, I just wanted it to end. The mystery was engaging enough, but I think this book tried to do too much. Non-mystery elements of the story felt forced, the mystery got convoluted but not in a fun way, and the characters were awkwardly developed at times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Stalking, and Murder