A review by librarianryan
By the Time You Read This I'll Be Gone by Stephanie Kuehn
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Murder she wrote is back in for a new generation. Jessica Fletcher is technically still around but not solving murderers anymore. However, her great niece is the new resident writer and mystery solver. Beatrice Fletcher lives in Maine in a town that is part residents and part elite boarding school. Beatrice spends her spare time writing for a true crime website all about local stories of the state of Maine. When her best friend goes missing one night, she’s sure something foul is a fight and it’s up to her to figure out what it is. This was a nice fun, cozy mystery. In the vein of the original Murder She Wrote books and television show. For as light as this book is, it drags on in the beginning, and you’re waiting to get into the mystery. This book, while about the mystery is much more about be the type of young woman she is and becoming and the life around town. This was a fine mystery that’s approachable for middle grade and up. It falls in the cozy as there is no blood guts, no horror, etc. it’s not a bad companion to the original stories, but it’s not the best mystery for the age group that’s out there. I have a hard time determining if I care to read the sequel. Not every mystery is solved in book one, there is a mystery that will arch into book 2. But one mystery is satisfactorily resolved. If you have kids who want to break into reading mysteries and may not be ready for more adult titles like Karen McManis, E. Lockhart, Tiffany Jaxon, etc. then this is the series you start with.