Sometimes when the premise is really good, maybe there's just nowhere better for the story to go.
When Frances was a teenager, she receives a bone-chilling fortune that she'll be murdered one day. She then spends the rest of her life trying to prevent it. But lo and behold, 60 years later, murder comes for her. Now it's up to her great-niece Annie to find the killer and earn her inheritance.
You have to admit, that's a pretty darn interesting premise. And the title certainly plays it up. In fact, I think this might just be one of the most eye-catching titles I've ever come across. So of course straight to the top of my TBR pile it goes. I couldn't wait to dig in.
And initially, I was hooked. I just love all the possibilities when you're starting a new mystery. Especially here because Annie is also looking into the disappearance of Frances' best friend Emily, so we're really getting a twofer for the price of one. The story's certainly not shy about casting suspicions this way, then that way. There's an interesting list of characters, all of whom could be friend or foe. It was a delightful start in the way that only cozy mysteries can be.
But then slowly and surely, I started becoming less excited. For one thing, when it came to the characters and the way they interact, there's something a little off about it all. It was stilted and contrived, as if every character was playing a part and knew it. The dialogue lacks that natural volleying back and forth that's essential to being authentic, often leaving me feeling like I'm just reading a bunch of non sequiturs. It's as if the author wanted certain results from each scene and kind of forced the dialogue and interactions to achieve it.
The other thing is that I had a lot of trouble keeping all the characters straight. We have two timelines, and some characters appear in one and some in both. But since Annie isn't a direct descendent of Frances, but rather her great-niece, I started losing track of all the different branches of the family tree and everyone's spouses and children, along with their relationships to each other. It was really confusing.
As for the mystery itself, honestly, that fell short for me too. I'm not expecting Agatha Christie (really, no one can reach the great dame), but when a book compares itself to Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, I have certain expectations. And this didn't really meet that, not even close. It feels like there were all these clues and then they just didn't really go anywhere. And the final solution didn't wow me so much as leave me vaguely puzzled, and I'm still not sure I understood how it all went down.
It's never good when a mystery ends in puzzlement rather than amazement. No doubt cozy mystery aficionados will find this a worthy read, but for everyone else, the jury's still out.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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