Expert clockmaker Ruth Clagan has another murder on her hands in the third Clock Shop Mystery from the author of Clock and Dagger.
Years ago, the serenity of picturesque Orchard, Massachusetts, was shattered by a fire that destroyed the town's beloved clock tower. Ruth inherited the dream of repairing it from her late grandfather. Now that she’s returned home to run his clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, she’s determined to make it happen, despite wrenches that are being thrown into the works by her least favorite person, town manager Kim Gray.
A crowd of residents and visitors are excited to see the progress of the tower at a fund-raiser for the campaign, until Kim is found crushed under the tower’s bell, putting an end to all the fun. The list of suspects is so long it could be read around the clock, and it includes some of Ruth’s nearest and dearest.
Time's a-wastin’ as Ruth tries to solve another murder in her beloved Orchard while keeping the gears clicking on her dream project.
Ambitious. That was the first word that came to mind after it became clear where the story was going. I love the setting, and the characters, and Holmes deserved her Agatha nomination for the first in this series, but as much as I admire her willingness to tackle such an intricate murder mystery, it didn't quite achieve success.
The plot was a familiar one, but the method, while very clever, was too convoluted to feel as fresh as it should have. I really like the angle she took with the murder method but by the end of book, I felt the same way I do after I've read an article on quantum physics: like I have the general idea down, but don't as me to explain it or it will all fall apart.
I enjoyed a lot of the book, and I love reading about watch/clock making, so I'll read the next one, if there's a fourth, but reading murder mysteries should not feel like reading quantum physics.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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4 February, 2018:
Finished reading
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4 February, 2018:
Reviewed