⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars
I got this book after a recommendation from my wonderful sister-in-law and it's the first book either of us has ever, in almost three decades (at the time of writing), recommended to the other. I can't remember what genre I asked for recommendations of, but I'm guessing, judging by the description, that it was maybe crime?? I hope it won't be too gruesome!
If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start them all off in the same way - by saying that every book I read and review starts off with the full field of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be there by the time I close the back cover. You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary, but that I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review - they don't just vanish. I'm hoping that this'll be a 5 star review after my SIL's recommendation, but I'm going to read with an open mind and not give the book and author any more chances than I do with a non-recommended book.
Let's get going shall we?
At 347 pages, it's one of the longer ones and I'm really hoping that it won't make me lose any meals or drinks - there's a tick by 'cosy crime' so that should be pretty safe, right?
I've just opened it and it says that it'll take a smidgen under 7 hours to read so, in theory, I'll get it finished at around bedtime tonight... I've learnt that I can usually take that time estimate with a pinch of salt though lol
There have been a lot of character names in the first 16 pages of the book and I've already forgotten most of them, but hopefully most of them will be minor characters. There have been a few potential lunch losses but the author has handled it well so far which is making me hope that this will be a non-nausea-causing book... I hope I'm not wrong!
I've enjoyed the first chapter and haven't spewed yet, thankfully, but 27 pages seems a bit long for the foreword and first chapter combined to me... maybe this is just how it starts and future chapters will be shorter??
I've just scrolled back in my Kindle and chapter 1 started on page 12, so 15 pages per chapter isn't so bad I guess.
I've skipped so far ahead this morning 'cos it's just not my kinda thing, and now that I've had my lunch, I don't fancy revisiting it again. I'm sure it's a great book for many people, it's just not my cup of tea unfortunately, so I'm taking a star off for that but leaving the other 4 in place for the moment. I'll try and find other mysteries before my final decision, but right now, I'm glad I've dipped my toe into the water, but it's not for me right now... maybe in a few years I'll change my mind, but right now in the very early Summer of 2026, it's not gonna be a regular genre for me unfortunately.
The first page of chapter 9 is making me feel like the author has only just discovered the word scone and wants to include it in every sentence... you also don't "dip" scones in jam and cream, you spread both gently over the two horizontal halves with a knife! I really wanted to like this book, but I don't think the author is from the UK and hasn't done much research into how things actually happen over here!
I'm 2-3 pages into chapter 10 now and it's been, almost entirely, descriptions of the front of the building and especially the door. I get that the author needs to build the mystery, but this is getting beyond a joke now!
I'm up to chapter 14 on page 188 now and I'm really not enjoying this book... I dunno if it's indicative of the genre or just this particular author's style, but it hasn't "grabbed" me yet and I'm spending most of the time flicking forward unfortunately.
At chapter 19 and less than 100 pages left to get through, I'm starting to see why the time at the start of the book was so short for such a long book - the other readers must have done a lot of skipping forward too.
Skipped all the way to chapter 22 now and I think, despite all the skipping today, I know who did it so I'm determined to read the last 42 pages without skipping forward at all.
Ah right. The author is a German native so maybe the scone thing was part of her research into Ireland that she liked and wanted to include it in her debut novel? It's disappointing that I had to skip through so much of it though. She's obviously kept writing after this book though, which I'm glad about.
Overall, an OK book, just not for me unfortunately.
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