What it is: a multi-layered detective story
Did I like it: no mystery about it, I did indeed
A book that didn’t fit into any category of the reading challenge but I read it anyway because I wanted to. The brightness of the cover was most certainly a pull, as well as the art itself. You might be aware of my opinion on blurbs by now, so it’ll be no surprise that I think there were way too many on it. That said about the outside, let’s dig in to what’s inside.
The story is about Abigail. She has a brother, Benjamin, who dies during their annual New Years Eve/Benjamin’s birthday combo get-away with friends. During these getaways they play murder mysteries that Abigail sets up as she’s a big fan of the genre and knows her classics.
With Benjamin’s death, the story turns into a real murder mystery. But when the police are eager to dismiss his death as a suicide, Abigail refuses to accept that. This is where the story takes a surprising turn and splits into two different story lines. One about Abigail and how she is (not) dealing with her brother’s death, and one in which the consulting detective she hires takes the lead. Consulting detective Bell is a classic consulting detective a la Poirot and the story contains more classical elements: a big country house, a mysterious foreigner, jilted lovers, money problems, and big reveals.
The story read very English to me, until the guards popped up and I realized this was actually set in Ireland. I think my mind went to England because of all those classic murder mysteries.
This story is not just about a murder mystery, it’s about how people deal with grief as well. It’s a brilliant set up and I enjoyed this book a lot.
I would recommend this to anyone that’s looking for a not-too-big murder mystery with a twist.
Bookworm in the City 