Tall Tails Secret Book Club

by Ceecee James

[Mystereity Reviews]

I don’t know where I first heard about this book, but it had all the things that light my fire. An old crumbling mansion, secret passageways and a secret garden, and a cat. What more could you want?

And overall I did enjoy it, but I have to say this one is more cozy than mystery. It wasn’t until halfway through the book that I realized that the murder I was expecting already happened earlier in the book but it was just casually mentioned, barely 3 or four sentences marked that it happened. So I spent most of the book wondering where this was all going and it wasn’t until 2/3 through that it all started to come together. Once the pieces started falling into place, the pace picked up and then it was a roller coaster ride to the ending.

I’ll give this one four stars, despite being a little flummoxed until it all started to come together., but the end made up for it. So I would say if you enjoy character driven stories, this might be for you.

Edit: I spent a little time thinking about the book last night after writing this review and came to the realization that I didn't give enough credit to the author for how neatly and subtly the mystery evolved as the book went on. I realized I never did notice when the mystery part of the plot started to "grow" until that last third of the book when all the clues became clearer. So, kudos to the author who managed to keep a well crafted mystery galloping along, weaving it neatly into the MC's narrative as she starts her job.

Also, I totally thought the crown was in that staircase chess piece she kept touching.