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A review by spess
Death in Castle Dark by Veronica Bond
2.0
I didn’t think this was a very compelling mystery. It seemed like the author would periodically drop the plot for unnecessary scenes that didn’t add anything to the story or characterizations.
It also felt like a self-insert fantasy for someone with dreams of stardom because everyone was constantly fawning over how talented the protagonist is. Multiple characters suggest/request that she sing and play the piano. She plays some showtunes and cries during her own performance! Also, multiple characters are completely overawed by her performance to an unreasonable degree. Maybe I haven’t been around enough theater people, but I’ve just never met anyone who cared that much about someone else’s singing.
I hated that the author included the trope of a woman learning to fight from her brothers, but it was even more egregious here because the adult heroine learned self-defense from her teenage brothers. I rolled my eyes pretty hard at that.
Finally, I was pretty unimpressed that the culprit turned out to be the only unlikable person we meet. It came across to me as an author who got too attached to her characters and didn’t want any of them to be bad. Worst of all, the murderer is portrayed as being mentally ill or somehow mentally unhinged during the big reveal. I think it’s just really irresponsible.
Spoilers for the ending for those who aren’t invested in finishing the book but still want to know the answer:
It also felt like a self-insert fantasy for someone with dreams of stardom because everyone was constantly fawning over how talented the protagonist is. Multiple characters suggest/request that she sing and play the piano. She plays some showtunes and cries during her own performance! Also, multiple characters are completely overawed by her performance to an unreasonable degree. Maybe I haven’t been around enough theater people, but I’ve just never met anyone who cared that much about someone else’s singing.
I hated that the author included the trope of a woman learning to fight from her brothers, but it was even more egregious here because the adult heroine learned self-defense from her teenage brothers. I rolled my eyes pretty hard at that.
Finally, I was pretty unimpressed that the culprit turned out to be the only unlikable person we meet. It came across to me as an author who got too attached to her characters and didn’t want any of them to be bad. Worst of all, the murderer is portrayed as being mentally ill or somehow mentally unhinged during the big reveal. I think it’s just really irresponsible.
Spoilers for the ending for those who aren’t invested in finishing the book but still want to know the answer: