Devi Nair
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Sandra Duncan ā± Duration: 9 hours š·ļø Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Genre: Cozy Mystery
This started off as a total moodread. Christmas in the title, a cozy mystery vibe, audiobook ready to go Let's start December off on a Christmas note! What I got instead was a main character who turned nine hours of audiobook into an actual struggle to keep up. Edie's whole "I'm too old not to be honest" thing felt less like endearing bluntness and more like a free pass to be rude, especially to the people who actually care about her. Her neighbor (who's likely her one friend), her grand nephew (for whom, she's the only relative), his husband (who is stuck having her as family. I feel for the guy!) Her grandnephew and his husband are in the middle of an emotionally fraught adoption process, and deserves her kindness, if not tenderness. What they get instead are Edie's sharp edges, and snides on their raw emotions, deepening their self-doubts further.
On paper, the setup is brilliant: a killer leaving jigsaw clues, a puzzle-obsessed lead, a Christmas countdown laced with dread. The atmosphere and structure promise a deliciously twisty seasonal mystery, and there are moments where that potential shows. Then comes the ending. Look, Iāll forgive a lot if the payoff is worth it. This one wasnāt. When the killerās motive finally dropped, my jaw didnāt hit the floor. It rolled its eyes. Itās one of those āI did it because of a decades-old grudge that somehow involves jigsaws and Christmas carolsā reveals that requires three leaps of logic and a suspension of disbelief the size of Lapland. By that point I was so done with Edieās nastiness that I didnāt even care whoād been carving people up.
Would I recommend it? A hard pass. No!
Talk to me! Did Edie drive you up a tree too?
š§ Listened in audio š¢ Narrated by Sandra Duncan ā± Duration: 9 hours š·ļø Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Genre: Cozy Mystery
This started off as a total moodread. Christmas in the title, a cozy mystery vibe, audiobook ready to go Let's start December off on a Christmas note! What I got instead was a main character who turned nine hours of audiobook into an actual struggle to keep up. Edie's whole "I'm too old not to be honest" thing felt less like endearing bluntness and more like a free pass to be rude, especially to the people who actually care about her. Her neighbor (who's likely her one friend), her grand nephew (for whom, she's the only relative), his husband (who is stuck having her as family. I feel for the guy!) Her grandnephew and his husband are in the middle of an emotionally fraught adoption process, and deserves her kindness, if not tenderness. What they get instead are Edie's sharp edges, and snides on their raw emotions, deepening their self-doubts further.
On paper, the setup is brilliant: a killer leaving jigsaw clues, a puzzle-obsessed lead, a Christmas countdown laced with dread. The atmosphere and structure promise a deliciously twisty seasonal mystery, and there are moments where that potential shows. Then comes the ending. Look, Iāll forgive a lot if the payoff is worth it. This one wasnāt. When the killerās motive finally dropped, my jaw didnāt hit the floor. It rolled its eyes. Itās one of those āI did it because of a decades-old grudge that somehow involves jigsaws and Christmas carolsā reveals that requires three leaps of logic and a suspension of disbelief the size of Lapland. By that point I was so done with Edieās nastiness that I didnāt even care whoād been carving people up.
Would I recommend it? A hard pass. No!
Talk to me! Did Edie drive you up a tree too?