A review by reviewerlarissa
The Curse of the Blue Scarab by Josh Lanyon
3.0
Review for BookWinked
There were high hopes for this book because I loved Mummy Dearest, also by this author. Going into this book there were certain expectations of mummies, monsters, romance, adventure. What I got was a monster mash-up (which combines a pre-existing text – often from the public domain – with another genre) without the monster, a mystery and a slow-burn not really there romance.
This book was certainly not bad, but it reads more like a Sherlock Holmes mystery with a doctor for a sleuth combined with a little drama and a whole lot of hints as to who is the murderer. There is a mummy, but it’s more for show than actually part of the story. So hence, no horror or monster, but a mystery with a likable older character and a colourful cast of secondary characters.
I definitely liked how this story was slow to progress as we really got to know the characters. Doctor Armiston is a confirmed bachelor for a reason and rather set in his ways, but then there is Captain Maxwell to shake things up and with a secret of his own. They were both flawed, fun, mysterious and strong characters with a mind of their own.
My guess is that is story will be an acquired taste.
My main reason for the rating is not that this story didn’t fulfil my expectations, but rather the execution of the mystery itself and the ending of it. It just didn’t fit in with the rest of the story.
There were high hopes for this book because I loved Mummy Dearest, also by this author. Going into this book there were certain expectations of mummies, monsters, romance, adventure. What I got was a monster mash-up (which combines a pre-existing text – often from the public domain – with another genre) without the monster, a mystery and a slow-burn not really there romance.
This book was certainly not bad, but it reads more like a Sherlock Holmes mystery with a doctor for a sleuth combined with a little drama and a whole lot of hints as to who is the murderer. There is a mummy, but it’s more for show than actually part of the story. So hence, no horror or monster, but a mystery with a likable older character and a colourful cast of secondary characters.
I definitely liked how this story was slow to progress as we really got to know the characters. Doctor Armiston is a confirmed bachelor for a reason and rather set in his ways, but then there is Captain Maxwell to shake things up and with a secret of his own. They were both flawed, fun, mysterious and strong characters with a mind of their own.
My guess is that is story will be an acquired taste.
My main reason for the rating is not that this story didn’t fulfil my expectations, but rather the execution of the mystery itself and the ending of it. It just didn’t fit in with the rest of the story.