This was a bit flat to start with and kind of rushed - I felt like it was hard to get to know Jem or Merinda in any meaningful way. Particularly because there are a million characters introduced in what is only a very short story. That said, I did like Jem and Merinda and feel like they'll be interesting characters to know. I'm particularly interested in finding out more of their backstory - how did they get into the detective game? The mystery itself was predictable but it was only a short story. The love interests seemed alright, although I think the novella could have been better for having not gone there. Too much was squeezed into this and I think everything suffered because of it. But it was enough to get me interested to find out more. 2 stars.
