The Busy Body

2.5 Honestly, I was expecting to like this book much more than I did. I love Agatha Christie, and especially the Miss Marple series, so the premise of the book really intrigued me. I have to say that I really did enjoy the Senator's character a lot and there are definitely people out there that would enjoy it because the mystery part of it was fine, but based on what didn't work for me, I really wasn't the right person for this one.

Now onto the stuff I didn't enjoy. Unfortunately, the MC just didn't do it for me. They were slotted into the classic bumbling sidekick role, yet the entire time we're constantly told that the MC is really smart and super into true crime, but the author doesn't show us any ingenuity on their part at all.

I really struggled with the tone/voice of the MC a lot because many of the character descriptions were fatphobic. For me, it feels like lazy writing to try and get the reader to dislike a person based on how nastily you describe their appearance. The way someone looks is morally neutral and doesn't determine what kind of person they are.

This next part really hurts me to say since I am leftist and agree with the ideas the characters bring up, but something about the way it was written made it seem like the AUTHOR was trying so hard to show how progressive THEY the writer are, so it came off just a bit heavy handed and inauthentic/white-knighting for my tastes. I got the vibe that the author really needed the reader to know that they are “a good liberal.”

And the romance aspect felt out of place and over the top. The objectification of the body guard was really out of left field.

Overall the whole thing was tedious and a bit smug.

***Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you Kensington Books for this ARC audiobook via Netgalley. This book had a great amateur sleuth duo rendered brilliantly by the narrator. The cast of characters provided an interesting conundrum as several of them were extremely unlikeable and might very well have done the deed. If there is one thing that I found incredibly jarring are some of the comments about one ‘fat' character - the body descriptions - about jiggly arms or a voracious appetite - which were meant to induce dislike for the character. Is this fair? I don't know. I'm sure the author has the right to portray the people in the book as they see fit, but I find it problematic when being fat becomes associated with being necessarily ugly or ‘less than' other people.

That being said, the ending did reserve a few surprises and an unexpected twist. Would I say this is a thrilling read? No, but it does follow in the illustrious vein of other recent cosy mystery writers, like Richard Osman or Nita Prose.

All in all, an enjoyable book.