layawaydragon
Written on Aug 1, 2016
I received a free copy for review from Great Escapes Tours, but since my review is...less than stellar I'm no longer part of the tour. I'm posting this ahead of time to not clash.
Cozy mysteries are known for their fun, amateur sleuths, mischief, and of course, mystery. The Crepes of Wrath is more somber than others. Marley has a tragic past and it gets worse with her cousin Jimmy dying while she’s watching The Flip Side. From seeing his body, people lurking around Jimmy’s house, hanging out with an old flame, and finding stolen valuables, her life is now a whirlwind.
She used to know exactly what she wanted and was satisfied with her life in Seattle working for a lawyer. Now? Things look quite different in Wildwood Cove. She wants to figure it all out, the first step is catching Jimmy’s killer. Her involvement begins reluctantly but her mind won’t let the mystery go and the unknown actors won’t let her go either.
There’s nothing wrong with Marley or her cast and crew. It was just hard to feeling anything and I think that’s mostly due to the writing. It was so lifeless. It would be chapters shorter without all the ‘she’s so sad and confused and the ocean soothes her’. Again, it makes sense for her character and circumstances, but I couldn’t connect and the mystery left something to be desired.
Maybe I haven’t read cozies for too long but her tactics are ridiculous. She took evidence from the scene in front of the officer’s son who didn’t say anything. Then she notices blood where it wasn’t there yesterday and waves it off until days later. I just…no. She also hasn’t seen Jimmy in a while or kept in touch, yet she’s the only one that notices the cab usage is odd. Huh? Then she’s the one that tracks down the cabbie… It’s a small town, where were the police and why weren’t they interviewing everyone?
If the investigator is sharing progress with you at dinner with his family, why aren’t you getting better information? Why didn’t they mention working on the cell phone number? Checking the broken glass? And what happened with the lock? Did they really break in, find his spare key, and replace the lock with their own?
Ugh. Some interesting pieces up in the air but how it unfolded with Marley at the helm left a lot to be desired.
A lot of time is spent at The Flip Side restaurant and while we meet Marley while waitressing that doesn’t happen often. She’s mostly stuck in the office doing paperwork which is realistic but dull. The townspeople are really nice cardboard cutouts except for the baddies in play. And the man of few words chef Marley tip-toes around? I felt so bad for him. It didn’t seem fair at all. Though the interviews were at least interesting.
I think The Crepes of Wrath would’ve worked better as a prequel after the series was started with Marley already living in Wildwood Cove running The Flip Side, and on her second case. I’m sure she’ll be happier and more involved in the sequel but after this run, I don’t think I’ll bother.
