Pallas Poppies

Netgalley read.

All in all I liked it, but…

Slow start and at one point I was thinking it would take a paranormal turn but didn’t (that could have been fun). Then 70% into the story the best character showed up, a black man who was given a new life away from the streets and he spends it dealing out justice, Mr. Topp (um where is his book?)

This book is a little long and never really gripped me properly. It could have been tighter, more focused, turned it up a little more.

I’ve never been anywhere in Africa and I know nothing about Africa so keep that in mind.

Kind of cute and charming but not a proper mystery with a main mystery that needs to be solved or something bad happens. Someone called it vignette styled writing and I agree 100%. Small little snippets aka cases. This style might not be for everyone but I was fine with it.

Not sure I’m fine with a man writing about “fat” women and “fatness” or “traditionally build women”, it rubbed me the wrong way.

I also didn’t like the comment from Sunday Times at the back, “Forget the library - the body is in the mud hut.” There are no bodies in this book and like 2 huts in connections to cattle stations, they have houses in Africa…

Felt like the story should start where the book ended. It wasn’t until than I started to care about the characters or see their personalities. Pretty cover though...

The mystery is fine but the back story is getting really stale, same old and not moving forward. At least add more problems for them so we have an understanding to why they are not getting together.

And then we have all the supporting characters doing nothing. Flossy doing nothing, Floyd (?) doing nothing, Harmony doing nothing, Aunt with a drug problem is going nowhere. Nothing is happening. Felt almost like a rushed early draft.

Marian Hussey is doing a good job as a narrator though.

Got some “Let the Right One In” vibes from this.

When I first came across this book in some sort of review it was something like, “This is a really weird story and different” etc etc but it’s just a regular story. Another meh for me.

I cannot understand what Domingo saw in Atl to become so loyal and in love. At one point I thought that would break and he realized that he shouldn’t hang out with vampires but, nope.

As the structure goes I was a little confused to when and where at time, and the author is friends with her.

But it’s a nice portrait of April and it was nice to get to know her a little. I had never heard of her before.

I was a nice read in the end because April is fascinating and author has written a flattering picture of her.

I enjoyed it. 4 stars all due to April.

I wanted more of everything. Two times lines, one is modern day where we get to follow Ryad who’s in Algiers as part of his studies, he needs manual work experience to complete his engineering degree and gets the job to clean out and old bookshop.

And then we have the life of the original bookshop owner Edmond Charlot who’s life we get to follow in short notes he has made of his life and work at the bookshop.

I liked the opening and I liked the ending but other than that it didn’t give me enough.

Oh and I did not like the narrator, sounds almost AI generated…

PS. Read it because of the Read Around the World challenge

Started this book at least 3 times, I have just started a new job and maybe that’s why I struggled?

I wanted to really like this, murder mystery in space sounds like fun. Didn’t really connect to the characters and the mystery didn’t get to me either.

Really liked the idea and would like to know more of the world.