Reviews

A Ghastly Spectacle by Lynn Messina

nevclue's review against another edition

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3.0

Accidentally read book 9 before this one. Normally I'm a stickler for series order, but even though I knew who the murderer was, this was still charming and fun. The series hits the sweet spot of not taking itself or its characters too seriously.

fliplibrarian's review against another edition

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3.75

Not enough Bea and Damien interaction. 

klettie's review against another edition

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3.0

I just enjoy these books. Lovely palate cleansers. They lack something to make them a bit more gripping but I nevertheless enjoy that they are put downable.

veva85's review against another edition

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5.0

another masterpiece

I adore this series. Bea is such a compelling character you just can’t help but cheer for her. I need more of her :)

ksanders013's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.0

looneytunes_ana's review

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4.0

The book is pretty good and the ending was satisfying. However it was hard for me to keep track of investigation especially with the info dump that kept happening. That was the only problem I had with the book

prettyfaroutman's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

juliesplotsandpages's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Who doesn't love a good murder mystery dinner party that turns into an actual murder investigation?!

I was so delighted that another Beatrice-Hyde Clare mystery was released! I just adore these books. It's the characters mostly. Bea can be a little too "in her head" sometimes, but overall, I just appreciate her and the Duke. Both together and separate (although we don't really get the Duke on his own). I love how they work together. I love how he believes in her, in spite of the fact that everyone else thinks she's crazy or eccentric or unfashionable. And I like the mysteries themselves, too. This was another in a line of great books in this series!

magdalenahai's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

ssejig's review against another edition

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3.0

Beatrice Hyde-Clare is trying to figure out how to be a duchess. She is used to being in the shadows as a spinster, not put in front of the ton as the woman who snared a duke and has now solved several murders. She really doesn't think that her friend Lady Abercrombie's tack is the right one, but the woman has already invited a number of people to participate in a murder mystery dinner party so Beatrice feels obliged to attend. Of course, one of the attendees ends up dead (one of the hostess's paramours, in fact) and it is up to Beatrice to solve the crime. And she does, but there is still 40% left in the book.
I really loved seeing Bea's deductive reasoning to figure out who is going to be the faux murderer in the party and I did enjoy getting to see her relationship grow with the duke. The mystery was okay but after the 60% mark, I kept wondering why I was still reading until about the 70% mark. Some nice filler but I wanted the story to just get on with it already.