MurderByDeath
Written on Aug 24, 2012
The protagonist, Gigi, kept having a running internal dialogue about Carlo, another character, that left me feeling completely confused: is she interested or not? I literally could not get a feel for what the author was trying to get across here.
Finally: a scene where one of the characters claims he can help her because his restaurant is closed for lunch do to plumbing issues, then in the very next scene, the Gigi is having lunch at that same restaurant that same day. Stuff like that bugs me.
There are things I did enjoy: I love the small town the author has created; she has introduced some interesting characters that could play a bigger part in future books. I like the detective she's introduced here too - although he wasn't around much throughout the story, she dropped enough hints of possible romantic tension that I'd like to read more. I love that the best friend plays a role and owns a bookshop. And I really liked the little twist at the end that had nothing to do with the plot, but left a smile on my face regardless. The mystery itself was interesting, with lots of suspects who had good reasons for wanting the deceased dead. I liked the final conflict as well, it was a nice twist on the heroine-in-peril.
I'll look for the next one and see which direction the series is going in before deciding to follow or not.