aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hooman_rostami's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
bookwyrm_lark's review against another edition
4.0
In Death with Dostoevsky, Katherine Bolger Hyde serves up another enjoyable mystery starring former literature professor Emily Cavanaugh. Emily is back at her college temporarily, researching for her book on Dostoevsky. But she is distracted by a troubled former student, Daniel, who is the target of unwanted sexual advances from another professor. When that teacher ends up dead, her head bashed in, the police arrest Daniel. But Emily doesn’t believes Daniel is guilty, and knows that he’s not the only person with a motive to kill Prof. Curzon. With the help of her fiance Luke’s nephew, a Portland police detective, Emily sets out to prove Daniel’s innocence.
Several recurring characters play significant roles in this book. Luke, Emily’s policeman fiance, appears occasionally, but since his job is in Windy Corner, we see less of him than usual. On the other hand, Emily’s friend Marguerite is very helpful throughout the investigation. Emily’s recently discovered half-brother, Oscar, an adjunct professor at Bede, is now dating another professor, and Emily tries to smooth his way. Luke’s nephew (introduced in this book) is charming, and will make a fine detective someday. Hyde’s secondary characters are always well-drawn and realistic rather than caricatures, pushing the series toward the “traditional mystery” rather than the “cozy-lite” end of the cozy-mystery spectrum and helping to make it one of my favorite newly-discovered mystery series.
All the books in the Crime with the Classics series reference the work of classic or well-known authors: Austen, Bronte, Christie, and now Dostoevsky. I haven’t read Dostoevsky, so I’m sure I missed a number of the subtler allusions to his work. But even without that background, the book reads like a tribute to Russian novels generally. The bleak winter setting, some of the personalities and relationships, and the Russian background of several of the important secondary characters all contribute to that impression. (Not incidentally, the author has a degree in Russian literature.)
Hyde brings Emily’s Orthodox Christian faith out a little more in this book. Personally, I found it refreshing — it’s rare to come across a main character in a cozy series whose faith is so clearly part of who she is. The world is full of people of various faiths as well as more secular individuals, after all, and fictional worlds should reflect that diversity. I don’t think readers of other religions, or none, will find it detracts from their enjoyment of the books. Any reflection of Emily’s beliefs occurs within Emily’s POV, making it part of her character rather than preachiness on the part of the author.
A final note: If you’ve read the previous books, you may notice that the name of Emily’s college has been changed in this book. Earlier books had her teaching at (or rather, on sabbatical from) the real-life Reed College. In this book, that institution has become Bede, a fictional college heavily based on Reed College. An author’s note explains that the change allowed Hyde to structure the college both physically and institutionally as she needed to for the plot, rather than trying to make the plot fit the real-life college. (I suspect it also avoids any potential legal unpleasantness.)
You could certainly read Death with Dostoevsky as a stand-alone, but the other books in the series are good, and the relationships develop over time, so why not start at the beginning with Arsenic with Austen?
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.
Several recurring characters play significant roles in this book. Luke, Emily’s policeman fiance, appears occasionally, but since his job is in Windy Corner, we see less of him than usual. On the other hand, Emily’s friend Marguerite is very helpful throughout the investigation. Emily’s recently discovered half-brother, Oscar, an adjunct professor at Bede, is now dating another professor, and Emily tries to smooth his way. Luke’s nephew (introduced in this book) is charming, and will make a fine detective someday. Hyde’s secondary characters are always well-drawn and realistic rather than caricatures, pushing the series toward the “traditional mystery” rather than the “cozy-lite” end of the cozy-mystery spectrum and helping to make it one of my favorite newly-discovered mystery series.
All the books in the Crime with the Classics series reference the work of classic or well-known authors: Austen, Bronte, Christie, and now Dostoevsky. I haven’t read Dostoevsky, so I’m sure I missed a number of the subtler allusions to his work. But even without that background, the book reads like a tribute to Russian novels generally. The bleak winter setting, some of the personalities and relationships, and the Russian background of several of the important secondary characters all contribute to that impression. (Not incidentally, the author has a degree in Russian literature.)
Hyde brings Emily’s Orthodox Christian faith out a little more in this book. Personally, I found it refreshing — it’s rare to come across a main character in a cozy series whose faith is so clearly part of who she is. The world is full of people of various faiths as well as more secular individuals, after all, and fictional worlds should reflect that diversity. I don’t think readers of other religions, or none, will find it detracts from their enjoyment of the books. Any reflection of Emily’s beliefs occurs within Emily’s POV, making it part of her character rather than preachiness on the part of the author.
A final note: If you’ve read the previous books, you may notice that the name of Emily’s college has been changed in this book. Earlier books had her teaching at (or rather, on sabbatical from) the real-life Reed College. In this book, that institution has become Bede, a fictional college heavily based on Reed College. An author’s note explains that the change allowed Hyde to structure the college both physically and institutionally as she needed to for the plot, rather than trying to make the plot fit the real-life college. (I suspect it also avoids any potential legal unpleasantness.)
You could certainly read Death with Dostoevsky as a stand-alone, but the other books in the series are good, and the relationships develop over time, so why not start at the beginning with Arsenic with Austen?
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
Even if it's quite and enjoyable read I found it quite slow and sometimes skipped pages to get to the point.
The setting, the characters are well written and interesting, the mystery is solid and there's plenty of suspects making the read guessing till the end.
The plot was well crafted and, even if it's slow paced in the first part, enjoyable and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
The setting, the characters are well written and interesting, the mystery is solid and there's plenty of suspects making the read guessing till the end.
The plot was well crafted and, even if it's slow paced in the first part, enjoyable and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
annarella's review
4.0
Even if it's quite and enjoyable read I found it quite slow and sometimes skipped pages to get to the point.
The setting, the characters are well written and interesting, the mystery is solid and there's plenty of suspects making the read guessing till the end.
The plot was well crafted and, even if it's slow paced in the first part, enjoyable and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
The setting, the characters are well written and interesting, the mystery is solid and there's plenty of suspects making the read guessing till the end.
The plot was well crafted and, even if it's slow paced in the first part, enjoyable and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
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