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A review by theresejanosky
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
2.0
1.5 stars? 2 stars?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be overly critical. I feel like a bit of a bitch for giving this a bad rating because I should have just never read it. But I just haaaad to find out all the answers to the mystery. Were those answers satisfying? No, absolutely not.
I think Maureen Johnson is a good writer. I like her writing style. I like the setting. I like the atmosphere she creates. No complaints there...but just this story...these characters...this plot. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I probably should have just not continued on with this series after the first book. But I did, and here we are.
My problems with this book are 1) Nothing happens. Maybe two things happen throughout this whole book? The rest is just showing us stuff from the past or Stevie thinking in circles trying to solve the case. 2) David continues to be the absolute WORST with no redeeming qualities. He is just straight up mean a lot of the time. Johnson really put in the work to just make him consistently worse each book. I know some other characters committed murder or whatever, but David is the true villain. 3) The whole mystery is surprise, surprise not that interesting! Also, I don't think it's complicated enough for someone not to have solved it before. And 4) The political side plot with Edward King is absolutely pointless.
I really wanted to like this series, and I am glad other people have. But now, what I would really, really like is to never think about it again.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be overly critical. I feel like a bit of a bitch for giving this a bad rating because I should have just never read it. But I just haaaad to find out all the answers to the mystery. Were those answers satisfying? No, absolutely not.
I think Maureen Johnson is a good writer. I like her writing style. I like the setting. I like the atmosphere she creates. No complaints there...but just this story...these characters...this plot. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I probably should have just not continued on with this series after the first book. But I did, and here we are.
My problems with this book are 1) Nothing happens. Maybe two things happen throughout this whole book? The rest is just showing us stuff from the past or Stevie thinking in circles trying to solve the case. 2) David continues to be the absolute WORST with no redeeming qualities. He is just straight up mean a lot of the time. Johnson really put in the work to just make him consistently worse each book. I know some other characters committed murder or whatever, but David is the true villain. 3) The whole mystery is surprise, surprise not that interesting!
Spoiler
The two idiots George Marsh hires just leave Alice with some friendly family in a cabin, and then she gets sick and dies? Wow, how exciting.Spoiler
The fact that no one knew Alice was adopted? Sorry, don't buy it. People LOVE to gossip, especially about rich people. And Alice wasn't the child of either Albert or Iris? So she would have looked nothing like either of them! And what did her birth certificate say? I don't buy that there wouldn't have been speculation in the 30s, and I don't buy that the current day police would be like "Well, the DNA doesn't match Albert or Iris so guess this isn't Alice! Just a random body that looks exactly like her."I really wanted to like this series, and I am glad other people have. But now, what I would really, really like is to never think about it again.