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A review by emilyrainsford
The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
This was a 100% cover and title buy. I didn't know anything about it prior to reading it.
I think the contents match the cover. It's very much a cosy, kind of twee, Agatha-Christie-ish little mystery story involving antiques, a middle aged lead with an elderly sidekick, all set in the English countryside.
It's a quaint little story and to be honest, I think I gave it a bit more leeway than it really deserved as I was reading it because I really *wanted* to like it.
It started out pretty decent, but it kind of felt like it never really stopped... starting. There was no moment when I felt invested in a high stakes moment or shocked by a reveal. The characters didn't have a lot of depth and it all felt slightly removed.
There was a lot of repetitiveness and the pacing was pretty slow. The main character Freya is pretty insipid and while I appreciate a story of a woman in her 40s finding herself again after divorce, the point was beleaguered SO much that I got utterly sick of hearing about it. Her older aunt Carole was I think supposed to be funny and quaint, but instead was incredibly annoying.
The actual plot with the antiques I found quite confusing and to be honest, I barely understood what was going on there enough to care about any of it.
I think this book was mostly vibes tbh. It was definitely cosy and cute, but it never really delivered on its potential.
It is set up at the end to lead directly into a sequel. I'm not sure I would pick it up - maybe if I felt like a really easy, mind-off read.
I think the contents match the cover. It's very much a cosy, kind of twee, Agatha-Christie-ish little mystery story involving antiques, a middle aged lead with an elderly sidekick, all set in the English countryside.
It's a quaint little story and to be honest, I think I gave it a bit more leeway than it really deserved as I was reading it because I really *wanted* to like it.
It started out pretty decent, but it kind of felt like it never really stopped... starting. There was no moment when I felt invested in a high stakes moment or shocked by a reveal. The characters didn't have a lot of depth and it all felt slightly removed.
There was a lot of repetitiveness and the pacing was pretty slow. The main character Freya is pretty insipid and while I appreciate a story of a woman in her 40s finding herself again after divorce, the point was beleaguered SO much that I got utterly sick of hearing about it. Her older aunt Carole was I think supposed to be funny and quaint, but instead was incredibly annoying.
The actual plot with the antiques I found quite confusing and to be honest, I barely understood what was going on there enough to care about any of it.
I think this book was mostly vibes tbh. It was definitely cosy and cute, but it never really delivered on its potential.
It is set up at the end to lead directly into a sequel. I'm not sure I would pick it up - maybe if I felt like a really easy, mind-off read.