Reviews

Murder in the Drawing Room by C.J. Archer

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drpig's review against another edition

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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

ratherbebeachin's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.0

natcat's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The mystery wasn't anything to write home about, and Cleo and Harry's involvement got increasingly flimsy, but I admit to being invested in Cleo and Harry and their relationship, and also a lot of the side characters. I paerocularly like the fairly nuanced portrayal of her family, who disagree with Cleo a lot but who aren't portrayed as villains, just as people who have very different goals to Cleo - it's a subtlety that I appreciate, and frankly didn't expect.

I remain baffled by the fact that Cleo continues to not understand why Harry doesn't want her as an official partner, given she got him fired from his last job. How is this a surprise that he doesn't want her as a partner, even aside from his general Victorian maleness and the fact that her uncle is dead set against her interacting with Harry at all! Cleo really is remarkably daft for supposedly being intelligent, and that doesn't feel like a deliberate writin choice.

deborahjillz's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

foxon's review against another edition

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2.0

I can think of a nice thing to say for this one! Cleo doesn't give up half way through! Thats was a nice change. The explanation for the murder was very far fetched, as it would have been unraveled by even a little bit of police work, but that surprisingly wasn't the worst part of this book. The worst part is when the uncle was a jerk to Cleo and she backs down immediately. It was disappointing. Also how many times are we going to hear her say she doesn't want to get married or that Armitage doesn't want a partner, without either of them telling us WHY!!!! That really bothered me.

I got the first three books in this series at no additional cost from a audio subscription service and I will not be buying anymore.