Reviews

The Eleventh Hour by Anina Collins

phoenixrulz81's review against another edition

5.0

Fun book

great mystery story and didn’t give away the ending or whodunit like some I can figure it out beforehand. characters were relatable and had depth.

stellyshadows'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This is my first cozy mystery. I’m more a fan of hardcore thriller and mystery stuff but this was really enjoyable. It was cute and I loved some of the characters, especially Poppy. This was such a light fluffy read even though it’s still mystery and I liked the progression, the only downside is the long chapters but that’s more of a personal preference for shorter ones. 3.5 stars

bookishescapades's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

sophiemartin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, and Grief

bookedby_raye's review against another edition

3.0

I don't really tend to go for cosy mysteries but I enjoyed the book.

becsa's review

4.0

Poppy McGuire is an investigative journalist for the Bottom Line and friends with Police Officer Derek Hampton. When Geneva Woodward is murdered Poppy and Derek form a friendly wager to who can solve the murder first.

Alex Montero is a former Baltimore Police Officer who has come to get away from the something that happened in his past and works with Poppy to figure out who is behind the murder.

When Poppy and Alex get to close to the truth will they be next on the murder's hit list?

I enjoyed this murder mystery with some romance thrown in. I loved the whole small town feel where the gossip was rampant and you knew who to go to if you wanted the good stuff. It's funny how people react to the death of someone, especially someone that apparently slept with other people's husbands.

I liked Poppy and how she really wanted to get to the bottom of everything and find out the truth behind everything. It would have been hard for her to find out things about the town she lived in but due to working for the newspapers that helped her get an in with the ladies.

Alex was a mystery that I haven't quite figured out yet. I learned some but I still think that we have more to discover in future books! Can't wait to learn more about him!

The ending was definitely interesting when everyone's past secrets were revealed and how the connections were made. I wasn't surprised with the killer and it all made perfect sense.

I look forward to reading more in this series!

kabamango22's review

I tried, I really did. Maybe I will try again in the future, but I doubt it. The writing put me off what I assume would have been an otherwise wonderful read.

So many sentences were crammed with too much information when it would have been far more effective to split it up. Some of the sentences were far too awkward for me.

I'm glad others seemed to have enjoyed this book. Sadly, it just didn't do it for me.

cristine's review

1.0

Wow, this book is so bad!!! I feel bad to say this but besides it being 100% predictable from the start and everything that happens throughout you've seen in every B rated mystery, it is so badly written. From the editing, to the "character development", to the story, to the absolute ridiculousness of the entire thing.... Where should I start? The editing... Did anyone actually edit this novel? There are so many stupid mistakes and typos it's as though it never made it to editing and went straight to print. Here are just a few examples because there are too many to list: "Maybe it a ring?" instead of it was or it is; "Mrs. Joseph Scanlon, whose first name I had never..." and in the next sentence uses the wrong name "Married to James Scanlon for nearly forty years"...Really what happened to Mrs. Joseph..? Next: "but then what she’d said about the former mayor hit me light a bolt of lightning". Errr, don't you mean LIKE a bolt of lightning? Then: "I like this look on your, Poppy" instead of on you, Poppy. Then: "Everyone texts and emails anymore" - um what? "I saw the same handwriting on note right on his desk" errr on a note or the note. OK you get the point right? RIDICULOUS! As for the story, it sounded like a plot geared more towards little kids. Poppy is truly the most annoying character that has ever appeared in a novel. The idea is for her to come across as intelligent and ambitious but she is actually not intelligent and is simply foolish and whiney. There were so many pointless dialogues between her and her father, her and her friend, Bethany, which I guess was to create some character development but it was beyond pointless and so irrelevant. There is a part where the dialogue between I think her and Bethany is literally a summary of what occurred in a previous portion of the book. It could have been easily summer up "I explained to Bethany everything that happened bla bla bla". Poppy's idiotic tantrums of wahhh everyone has an opinion of me in a small town or wahhh how dare the detective tell me it was safer for me not to come along to a murder investigation down to the scene with the murderer where she literally said to stop bashing women and was upset that the town would believe a reputable detective over her idiot self while a gun is pointed at them, were so absolutely stupid. I mean, really, so ridiculous. Oh yea and how about her letting the murderer into the house because oh, she couldn't recognize the voice from someone else. Wow! Oh wait, let's not forget just how amazing Alex's eyes are. You know how you know this? Because it's mentioned a thousand times in the novel which makes it truly sound like a teenager is the main character and this book was written for or by a teenager...his dreamy brown eyes, his deep brown eyes, those big brown eyes, those mysterious brown eyes, his amazing brown eyes.. OMG....I don't think I've ever hated a character so much in a novel as I did Poppy. All her little outbursts when Alex is trying to do his job as an actual investigator make Poppy appear as a weak, whiney, erratic child, instead of an intelligent, focused, woman with good instincts as she allegedly was to have. Man, I can go on and on but I never want to think of this book again. I only finished it to satisfy one of the last prompts on my reading challenge list. I don't think this is considered a YA series from what I could find but if this is geared towards adults and adults actually like this then I have to assume there is a certain audience for this type of novel and I definitely am not it. Glad other people are able to get passed the poor writing and like it.

ddbookreviews's review

3.0

Poppy is a Journalist in a small town who stumbles into a murder investigation. She teams up with an ex Baltimore cop with some baggage and with humour mixed in they become a crime solving team to be reckoned with. Personally I love Poppy, she is smart and independent and loves being useful.

vesper1931's review

2.0

There has been a murder in the small town of Sunset Ridge. Poppy McGuire believing that she is more intelligent that the police decides to investigate with the help of a retired Baltimore detective.
Couldn't take to the characters especially Poppy but as I finished the book it gets 2 stars.