edsantiago's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
An unexpected pleasure which I might’ve appreciated more with a little preparation, so I’m targeting this review toward people who know nothing about this book series.
The most important thing to know ahead of time is: whatever expectations you might have, let them go because this will be both more and less. Yeah, there’s a murder mystery, and an interesting (VERY CONVOLUTED) side plot, but those feel incidental. The bulk of the story, as I saw it, is just a pretty decent fella living a fairly ordinary life, treating people with respect and kindness and compassion, and for the most part surrounding himself with similarly caring loved ones. As other reviewers have noted, what makes this book is the <i>relationships</i>. And they’re lovely. Mature. Strong. Low-drama. Some people might find a book like this boring; I found it refreshing even with the pages-long digressions into college scheduling conflicts. It felt like life.
Proofreading was appalling, worst I’ve seen in years. The occasional mystery elements required Golden Gate-level suspension of disbelief. Tangents galore, little side stories that get abandoned—again, much like life. And the Edith Warner snippets felt like afterthoughts, tacked on in postproduction because oops we should probably connect somehow to the book title. Even so I really enjoyed it, am glad to have read it. Would love to pick up another one in the series, but (sigh) I first need to become more tolerant of misprints.
The most important thing to know ahead of time is: whatever expectations you might have, let them go because this will be both more and less. Yeah, there’s a murder mystery, and an interesting (VERY CONVOLUTED) side plot, but those feel incidental. The bulk of the story, as I saw it, is just a pretty decent fella living a fairly ordinary life, treating people with respect and kindness and compassion, and for the most part surrounding himself with similarly caring loved ones. As other reviewers have noted, what makes this book is the <i>relationships</i>. And they’re lovely. Mature. Strong. Low-drama. Some people might find a book like this boring; I found it refreshing even with the pages-long digressions into college scheduling conflicts. It felt like life.
Proofreading was appalling, worst I’ve seen in years. The occasional mystery elements required Golden Gate-level suspension of disbelief. Tangents galore, little side stories that get abandoned—again, much like life. And the Edith Warner snippets felt like afterthoughts, tacked on in postproduction because oops we should probably connect somehow to the book title. Even so I really enjoyed it, am glad to have read it. Would love to pick up another one in the series, but (sigh) I first need to become more tolerant of misprints.
pattieod's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of fun, learned about New Mexico. The protagonist is sort of annoying, and the approach to the mystery itself is a little trite, but the whole concept is interesting and different enough that I'll be looking for another in the series.
mazza57's review against another edition
2.0
To be honest i felt this was a little too slow and laboured to call it a good read. there were some good parts and it had a bit of humour to make it more interesting. There are more in the series but not certain I am attracted enough to continue
slferg's review against another edition
5.0
Hubert lives in Albuquerque, and runs a store with no name that sells pottery. He makes some of the pots himself, but a lot he buys from Indigenous people to sell. His pots are expensive, so he doesn't have many customers and his shop doesn't really have a name. He never got around to putting up a sign. Then a pot is stolen from a display at a park that is only one of two of it's kind known. And some people are pretty sure he stole it. So he's trying to figure that out when someone asks him to steal the other one from a local museum. Hubert's friend, Susannah, a perpetual student who is going through all the majors (apparently) at the college, meets with him every evening at 5 at the local bar where they drink magaritas and talk about things in their lives. She has some friends that are designing logos for a business class and asks if they can design one for him. He says sure, but he doesn't even have a name for his store. So they'll just have to design it and he'll see if he likes it. A special agent accuses him of stealing the pot from the park, since he's trying to think of a way to steal the other he feels a little guilty. Actually he's not sure he's going to steal if, but playing around with the idea. But he has been reading an anthology of articles about Pythagoras that keeps coming up.
The book is a little different, but very interesting. Hubert has a nephew who is very good at computers that he's always calling for help - who helps him out for money. Just a little to tide him over.......There is quite a bit of humor and I like the way the story is told.
The book is a little different, but very interesting. Hubert has a nephew who is very good at computers that he's always calling for help - who helps him out for money. Just a little to tide him over.......There is quite a bit of humor and I like the way the story is told.
mart15inez's review against another edition
4.0
A clever entertaining book with interesting characters, especially the main one, Hubert Schuze.
raji_c's review against another edition
3.0
I managed to read all the books () in the Pot Thief Mysteries series. I really liked the first book in the series. It felt like watching an old English movie (think Casablanca without the angst). A reluctant hero who is on the ‘wrong side of forty-five’ and is afraid of violent confrontations but quick on the draw with his quips makes for an interesting read. Some interactions had me laughing out loud. The ‘mystery’ was really just a tiny part. My appreciation of the books rose and fell through the series. The strength of this series is really its cast of characters who are extremely easy to fall in love with. Another plus is the information on Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Escoffier, Lawrence, Billy the Kid, and Georgia O'Keefe. A drawback is the familiarity of sentences, situations, mannerisms all spelt out in the same words in different books. It can be a little tedious when you read the entire series in one go like I did. On the whole, a pleasant way to spend time but not something I might go back to.
Come to think of it, this is my second series based in, well I cannot call it small town America, so maybe, not-really-mainstream America. I find I like the perspective. And surprisingly (or not), there is a lot of interesting food in both the Orenduff and Jerusha Jones series!
Come to think of it, this is my second series based in, well I cannot call it small town America, so maybe, not-really-mainstream America. I find I like the perspective. And surprisingly (or not), there is a lot of interesting food in both the Orenduff and Jerusha Jones series!
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
4.0
I’m sad. Why did no one tell me about this series before? The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe is smart, laugh out loud funny, and a good mystery. It throws in bits of history, literary references, and culture, and word play. It’s just fun.
allendsloan's review against another edition
3.0
fyi- Goodreads has this book labeled as #3 in the Pot Thief series. But be advised that chronologically, "The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein" is third in the storyline. I believe that "...Escoffier" should be listed as #4 in the series.
barbyoung's review against another edition
3.0
I like reading mysteries set in the locations I'm visiting when I travel, so I bought this book in Albuquerque. It was amusing but a bit confusing, with too many minor characters and a convoluted plot. At first Hubie's comments were amusing, but they grew annoying by halfway through the book. And his conversations with his friend Susannah are nothing like anything real people would say to each other.