A review by chelsea_jack
The Bughouse Affair by Marcia Muller
3.0
This well-written mystery was an oddity for me. I enjoyed it, but I didn't *love* it.
Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon investigate parallel cases that converge in an unexpected way. As co-owners of their own detective agency, they have an interesting dynamic - certainly there's some gender politics of the period at play here, a detail that I appreciated - but the authors have also cleverly factored in their characters' personalities.
Other than the inclusion of a Sherlock Holmes impersonator(?), the story seemed plausible to me. The details of San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century were excellent - the dialogue in particular and language used by the characters was quite well done!
However, I was never compelled to keep reading, never felt an urgency to reach the conclusion of the novel. The book just lacked that special something to draw me in.
See my complete review at: To Each Their Own Reviews
Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon investigate parallel cases that converge in an unexpected way. As co-owners of their own detective agency, they have an interesting dynamic - certainly there's some gender politics of the period at play here, a detail that I appreciated - but the authors have also cleverly factored in their characters' personalities.
Other than the inclusion of a Sherlock Holmes impersonator(?), the story seemed plausible to me. The details of San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century were excellent - the dialogue in particular and language used by the characters was quite well done!
However, I was never compelled to keep reading, never felt an urgency to reach the conclusion of the novel. The book just lacked that special something to draw me in.
See my complete review at: To Each Their Own Reviews