Natalia

Unexpectedly, the twists and turns in this book left me feeling irritated and unsatisfied. Some were predictable and others felt outright bonkers, like they were present for the sole purpose of shocking the reader (kind of like when there are gratuitous jump scares in a horror movie). I did not like the way it ended. To be fair, I knew what I was signing up for - a fun story that's designed to entertain without requiring too much effort from the reader (in my case, listener). And for many people I think the story will meet this expectation.

A combination of two elements sapped the fun out of it for me - first and most importantly, I thought the main character was stupid. Her decisions and emotional reactions often did not make sense to me. Second, I solved a key element of the mystery (and I am not particularly good at this). I was disappointed because I wanted to be confounded to fully appreciate the big reveal. But when it came, it wasn't over - there was this other crazy thing that emerged, like the author was trying to make up for the main mystery being obvious. Others would surely disagree, but I could've done without it. The pieces fell together but it still seemed absurd. Take my review with a grain of salt though, there are plenty of batsh*t crazy mysteries that I absolutely love, it's just that for some reason this didn't work for me.

The plot of the Golden Gizmo is pretty far-fetched. Con artists and schemers behind every corner! A talking, singing doberman! Cars, booze, and gold galore! And of course, one good-for-nothing dame with an express ticket to hell. It was gritty, but not as dark as some of Thompson's other works. Fun, fast-paced, and easy to read in a sitting or two.

Lisa Tuttle is a master of the short story. Why haven't more people heard of her? She's brilliant.

One of those books where nothing much happens but you breeze through it anyway, and at the end you feel simultaneously satisfied and wanting more. Lovely!