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A review by allyexa
Swiss Vendetta by Tracee de Hahn
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
There’s nothing I love more than a grand remote setting in a murder mystery, with a huge storm trapping everyone together until they figure it out. The setting of this book did not disappoint: a once-in-a-century ice storm, a Swiss castle by the frozen lake, no power, everyone wearing priceless furs and roasting food in fireplaces to keep warm.
But the mystery was just kind of blah for me. As an outline, there was plenty to work with: hidden pasts and social climbing, fearsome debts and WWII side stories that tied in, hidden passages and falling trees uprooting old graves. So I think it was just that the characters were so bland to me, especially the main detective. Considering all that was going on around them, and what everyone was dealing with in their own lives, everyone was kind of flat and indistinguishable. (When the murderer was revealed, I was like, “wait, who’s that?”) And the writing was fond of summing things up constantly. A lot of telling and not showing.
Still, the setting was remarkable, and the plot moved along. I’m not invested in any of the characters though, so probably won’t continue with the series.
4/22/24
But the mystery was just kind of blah for me. As an outline, there was plenty to work with: hidden pasts and social climbing, fearsome debts and WWII side stories that tied in, hidden passages and falling trees uprooting old graves. So I think it was just that the characters were so bland to me, especially the main detective. Considering all that was going on around them, and what everyone was dealing with in their own lives, everyone was kind of flat and indistinguishable. (When the murderer was revealed, I was like, “wait, who’s that?”) And the writing was fond of summing things up constantly. A lot of telling and not showing.
Still, the setting was remarkable, and the plot moved along. I’m not invested in any of the characters though, so probably won’t continue with the series.
4/22/24