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Anonymous

  • 64
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  • 24
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  • 110
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Fast Paced, Fun and Smart!

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-27-25

The main character is very relatable and appealing! Hard to understand exactly why considering she’s a high powered lawyer working in DC and has sufficient personal beauty and charisma to attract a trust fund boyfriend and be welcomed into his high-flying wealthy family despite her far more modest family of origin. But, she feels like a homey!
The plot rollicks right along, somewhat improbably but not too much, and there are some truly memorable and fun scenes, and a decent wrap-up. Engaging peripheral characters. I also enjoyed learning a little more about the history of the Gardiner Heist. Reader did a nice job too!

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Engaging narative

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-11-25

I enjoyed the story, full of both pathos and humor. It took me a while to accustom myself to the narrator’s voice, which at first seemed a bit flat and declarative. But as the storyline engaged me more and more I warmed to it.

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Engaging characters and lively plot!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-22-25

Great story, a perfect blend of adventure, pathos, humor. Positive but with enough realism and natural human detail to keep it from being saccharine. I’m not a huge fan of the occasional overly pious parts, but they’re easy enough to skip through quickly. The reader is excellent!

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Likable characters

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-12-25

The characters in this series are so deftly drawn, with all their human foibles and their virtues, they feel like real people, like friends.
The plots get a little outlandish at times, this one is a good example of that, but so beautifully written and always such a mixture of the super convoluted and the real down to earth that I’m always following right along, happily swallowing the author’s delicious Koolaid.

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Engaging plot

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-19-25

The plot was clever and engaging! The main characters were likable. I love all the dog talk. However I don’t this narrator is the right person for the job. Her voice frequently gets robotic and when she gruffly lowers her voice to do certain characters it is painful to listen to. And not only did she mispronounce well known town names (Darien, CT for one) but she mispronounced common words like “marrow bone” (how?) and the yiddish/american noun “noodge” or “nudge” (meaning a pest.) Good story, not great narration.

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Surprised by how Meh this was!

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-17-25

The narrator has what sounds like a computer generated intonation? Really off-putting. After an initial strong start (rescuing a dog!) the storyline became so irritatingly slow and dull, the characters so poorly drawn, that I couldn’t finish the book. Got about halfway in and then had to bail (life is short!) I highly recommend Berenson’s new “Senior Sleuth” series but will give this old one a miss.

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Engaging characters, flat ending

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-27-24

I just discovered Elly Griffiths’ writing! I enjoyed this book overall: engaging characters, good descriptions, clever misdirections and an inventive plot! There were some plot holes that had me saying such exasperated things aloud as “Just put a security camera on Clare’s house why dontcha?” IMO as an audio book it went on way too long. I lost some interest in the whole thing after about hour 9, and there were still several more to go. However, this might not be as big a deal in print book format. And the ending felt pretty flat, though I’ll admit I did not guess the murderer. But maybe that’s because the readers weren’t given enough actual clues? The “scary story” within the story was actually not very scary and I slightly resented having the whole thing repeated at the end.
However, there was some very good stuff in this. And great narration! Will try more in the series

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Super pleasant, a mental vacation

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-30-24

Light yet deep writing, beautifully read. It just burbles along. Some of the class prejudices in the second half of the book are dated and a bit sad. Putting that aside, it’s a gem of a novel!

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Totally wonderful!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-17-24

Loved the story, full of unexpected moments! The characters are so masterfully drawn, and the drama and humor exactly right. The tale just burbles along enchantingly to its satisfying denouement! The reader is an artiste, and did book this perfectly, brava! If I could give this book six stars I would.

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Interesting

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-15-24

Interesting plot with lots of great side details. Such as the great sensitivity shown to the emotional toll of physical differences. I disliked the amount of sadism and brutality in the book, just skipped over as much of that as possible.

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