Necromanta_101
Hi. I like cats.
1689 points
Necromanta_101 started reading...
1d
Cold Clay
Juneau Black
The second book in the "Shady Hollow" series, in which some long-buried secrets come to light, throwing suspicion on a beloved local denizen. It's autumn in Shady Hollow, and residents are looking forward to harvest feasts. But then a rabbit discovers a grisly crop: the bones of a moose. Soon, the owner of Joe's Mug is dragged out of the coffeeshop and questioned by the police about the night his wife walked out of his life--and Shady Hollow--forever. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but dogged reporter Vera Vixen doesn't believe gentle Joe is a killer. She'll do anything to prove his innocence... even if it means digging into secrets her neighbors would rather leave buried.
Necromanta_101 commented...
1d
Yeah. Same. While reading the book, the plot seems to go in multiple directions so much it's hard to follow. But at the end, it's actually pretty rewarding to see the full picture and actually find the feeling of closure for a plot that is convoluted.
A satisfying plot that does connect all the plot lines into an unexpected conclusion.
A satisfying plot that does connect all the plot lines into an unexpected conclusion.
Necromanta_101 finished a book
1d
The Master Key
Masako Togawa
In postwar Tokyo, the K Apartment House for ladies is about to be moved intact in a highly publicized engineering feat. Then, flashback seven years to one of its occupants and her confederate--a man dressed in woman's clothes--as they bury a child's body in an unused communal bath beneath the building. A second flashback tells of the kidnapping of four-year-old George Kraft, son of an American army officer and his Japanese wife. The stage is set. The actors are a few of the present-day occupants of the K apartments--single, lovely, obsessed, neurotic--each life a novel in itself, told in a spare, unembellished style that never lapses into the sentimental. Manipulated by hidden strings, their actions and reactions lead to suicide, murder, and some final surprising revelations. This is a fresh, original novel, superbly crafted and riveting from start to finish.
Necromanta_101 commented...
1d
Just going to yoink this real quick. I always find some intriguing books to track down from your account. ❤️
knightyknight TBR'd a book
1d
Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh, #1)
P.D. James
Headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door. Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill. Cover Her Face is P. D. James's electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.
Necromanta_101 TBR'd a book
1d
Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh, #1)
P.D. James
Headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door. Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill. Cover Her Face is P. D. James's electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.
Necromanta_101 commented...
2d
What cool cover art and a great title. Looks very interesting. And wow, 8th book in the series. Sayers was turning these books out.
knightyknight TBR'd a book
2d
Have His Carcase (Lord Peter Wimsey, #8)
Dorothy L. Sayers
The second Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Have His Carcase. Harriet’s discovery of a murdered body on the beach before it is swept out to sea unites her once more with the indomitable Lord Peter Wimsey, as together they attempt to solve a most lethal mystery, and find themselves become much closer than mere sleuthing partners in the process.
Necromanta_101 commented...
2d
Heyyyyy, I'm "necroposting" on this thread to announce Pagebound got partially fixed for me randomly today. And we actually have a 40% overlap. It's a brand new world for me now. Well, a partially brand new world for me. It's half fixed, with some accounts still showing 0% and others showing the correct percentage. But like, that's good enough for me.
Necromanta_101 commented...
2d
Omg. Your review got me thinking of so many different things that couldn't fit into my review. So, like, I'm going to yap for a bit, sorry.
A. Stereotypes: This is a problem I've been having in a lot of mysteries lately. Like, this is the second book I've read this month that had the rich people being vapid and one-dimensional. And like I get it, we all hate rich people. But it's just so boring to not add any depth, commentary, or even purpose behind showcasing any type of character so flatly. In some cases, it actually feels misogynistic to write women characters that are rich, who only spend their husband's/father's money. And while I'm sure people like that exist, why is it mostly women characters who have those characteristics?
B. Speaking of misogynistic, the book totally glosses over the racism and racial profile that happens. Like, arresting the Raccoon without any evidence while keeping him imprisoned and preventing him from calling his lawyer is a major injustice that completely didn't matter to the story. We didn't even get a Raccoon paragraph in the epilogue that shows whatever happened to him after the real killer was discovered because he was just a red herring for the story.
C. I felt the forward told me not to overthink the setting, but like, I am an overthinker. How is being told not to overthink supposed to stop me????
D. It's funny how I didn't think about Zootopia at all during reading the book because it's not even similar despite the settings. Zootopia is just a lot better in terms of both the mystery elements of the story and worldbuilding. Though, I do feel Zootopia definitely had the leg up for being a movie, making the visual aspects of how the citizens live in the world more easily shown. Still, the book is so inconsistent with how the worldbuilding impacts the story. Like, in one specific part of the book, the main character showed how the Owl that lives at the top of a tree could be reached using a string with a bell. Smaller creatures would ring the bell to announce their need for the Owl, which is a creative way to show how the Owl did think about how smaller/non-flying creatures can reach him. Later, the authors had the main character teleport to the top of the tree to talk to the Owl in his own house and then teleport back to her den after the conversation. UHM. How did the main character get to the top of the tree? Did she ring the bell and have the Owl fly her up? Are there stairs in the tree? Is there an elevator? The plot doesn't care because the focus isn't on the worldbuilding. Which means, if the plot needed the main character to speak to the Owl character, then she can just go speak to the Owl character without any considerations for how that would be possible in the first place.
But anyway, loved your review. Are you thinking of continuing the series?
Welcome back to honeydijon’s Hater Haberdashery! My hater hat will be on for this review. 🎩
tl;dr: Zootopia did it better.
When I was a kid one of my hallmark obsessions was Littlest Pet Shop. I had so many; shelves upon shelves in my room were dedicated to the toys. I gave every single one of them a name, a home, and a backstory. I’d spend hours playing with them. My fascination with mysteries and drama began at a young age, so even at 8 to 10 years old I loved giving my Littlest Pet Shops intense storylines, filled with all the intrigue you might see on any given CW show.
And that’s what this book made me think of.
On the one hand, I loved revisiting the fond memories I have of playing with my plethora of LPS toys, but also… why is this book marketed to adults reminding me so heavily of literal child’s play? And I get it, guys — this is a cozy mystery. I wasn’t expecting serious literature here, nor was I wanting it. I wasn’t expecting an intense, gruesome, intricate mystery plot, nor was I wanting it. I wanted a cozy murder mystery in a world populated by talking animals, as Shady Hollow is set up to be. But the whimsy and warmth quickly subsided as I made my way further into the book.
I was actually so certain I was going to love this! I used a credit on the audiobook! I got an accompanying ebook copy! And the audiobook itself was delightful; I thought the narrator’s performance was spectacular. I loved how the different voices and inflections the narrator used made it feel like I was being told a bedtime story. Truly, the audiobook carried this one for me and I have only positive things to say for the narration.
I struggled to enjoy this book for several reasons (which other reviewers have shared as well). First, the heavy utilization of stereotypes. Basically every character was just flattened into exhibiting stereotypical characteristics, both of the animals they are said to be and the human counterparts they mirror. I can’t speak to the authors’ intent, but as a reader the impact was I felt like Shady Hollow was populated by stereotypes that were never really subverted, interrogated, or fully empathized with. It felt so heteronormative and white-focused, which is crazy considering these are woodland creatures in a “cozy” story.
I also felt that the authors relied on their readers’ knowledge of these animal species instead of actually imbuing the story with descriptions and demonstrating traits to show the reader that the characters were (mostly) woodland animals. At the beginning of the book, there is an author’s note:
”Shady Hollow is a tale of woodland creatures, and from time to time the contemplative reader may pause to wonder precisely how a town functions with foxes and rabbits as tenants of the same building, or how a mouse and a moose can chat eye to eye. Keep in mind, gentle reader, that this is a work of fiction. The characters' resemblances to real creatures, alive or cruelly murdered, is incidental indeed. For those who feel compelled to resolve this issue before continuing with the story, you may wish to think of the characters merely as humans with particularly animalistic traits...in other words, just like you and me.”
Well… yeah? Of course this is a work of fiction? An author telling me to just imagine their book in which every single character is meant to be a non-human animal as featuring “humans with particularly animalistic traits” if I can’t clearly imagine their world does not sit right with me at all. It’s giving “just trust me, bro.” That’s not to say there weren’t any moments in which we were given glimpses into the characters’ species, but there was a large disconnect for me and I say this as someone who is a highly visual reader. Where books naturally turn into film productions in my mind, I struggled to conceptualize anything in Shady Hollow.
Zootopia did it a hell of a lot better. I think maybe even my Littlest Pet Shops did it better.
Necromanta_101 started reading...
3d
The Master Key
Masako Togawa
In postwar Tokyo, the K Apartment House for ladies is about to be moved intact in a highly publicized engineering feat. Then, flashback seven years to one of its occupants and her confederate--a man dressed in woman's clothes--as they bury a child's body in an unused communal bath beneath the building. A second flashback tells of the kidnapping of four-year-old George Kraft, son of an American army officer and his Japanese wife. The stage is set. The actors are a few of the present-day occupants of the K apartments--single, lovely, obsessed, neurotic--each life a novel in itself, told in a spare, unembellished style that never lapses into the sentimental. Manipulated by hidden strings, their actions and reactions lead to suicide, murder, and some final surprising revelations. This is a fresh, original novel, superbly crafted and riveting from start to finish.
This book would have been great if it wasn't a mystery.
The setting was the best part of the novel. The authors created a perfectly charming little town with an unseen underbelly. The twist of having humanistic animals as the citizens of the town makes the world-building an even more interesting perspective. I would have loved to learn more about how the animals live in their world, the daily life of the town, or even how the characters love, but instead the book is a mystery that only teases those elements.
The mystery is the worst part of the book because it's barely fleshed out. The detectives investigating the murders don't have a clue, and the readers have even less than that. It's all vibes and gut feelings instead of a proper investigation because there was very little to properly investigate in the first place. Like, the story is so repetitive, the main characters go over their notes multiple times without advancing the plot, and the main characters talk about investigating leads, clues, and puzzles multiple times without actually seeing the investigation.
Honestly, the mystery just feels like filler. Which is why I would have enjoyed the book more if it were in any other genre. Like, it would have been cute if the story was a romance, interesting if it was drama, and even poignant if it was tragedy. But as a mystery, the novel is not up to snuff.
Necromanta_101 finished a book
3d
Shady Hollow
Juneau Black
The first book in the Shady Hollow series, in which we are introduced to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony--until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case. Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer to Shady Hollow. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy. Vera finds more to this town than she ever suspected. It seems someone in the Hollow will do anything to keep her from solving the murder, and soon it will take all of Vera's cunning and quickness to crack the case.
Necromanta_101 commented...
5d
Hiii, I really love the question, so I thought I'd give my little two cents.
My favorite question so far has been the British and Irish Crime Classics quest. I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie, so of course I would like her contemporaries' mysteries, too. But the quest includes so many authors that I have never heard of and explores more genres/subgenres than just murder mysteries. Exploring different types of crime fiction in the quest is half the fun.
My favorite books in the quest so far have been:
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - This book is kind of a gimmie since I've read it multiple times, and it is on my taste shelf. But any excuse to reread a genuine masterpiece of the mystery genre is one I'll gladly take.
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Another gimmie, as Doyle is another master of the genre, and Sherlock Holmes is iconic for a reason.
- An English Murder by Cyril Hare - Set during Christmas, the novel focuses on the politics of 50s England while still having relevant commentary on the present.
- The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley - Berkeley is one of the highlights for the quest to me. And this novel in particular was an incredible exploration of the crime genre itself.
Oh. I also joined The Monstrous Feminine quest after reading your post. Sounds like a fun time to me.
What quest have you enjoyed the most for the books you've read in it? The quest that you read the books for the books, not the badge, or not just the badge. What is/are your favorite book(s) from that quest? Which book(s) would you recommend to convince people to join the quest?
My favorite quest is The Monstrous Feminine. Since I'm indecisive, I have four favorite books from the quest: • The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim • Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang • The Lamb by Lucy Rose • Bed Rot Baby by Wendy Dalrymple
