Rate this book

Old Maid's Puzzle (2008)

by Terri Thayer(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0738712183 (ISBN13: 9780738712185)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Midnight Ink

series

A Quilting Mystery

review 1: As is my usual tendency, I have jumped into the middle of a series without reading the previous book. And in this case, well, the book jumps right into bed. Or nearly. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you, indeed, fairly original (though, well, Stephanie Plum is like that, isn't she?).And as usual lately I finished the book feeling like a curmudgeon. When did I get so picky, for goodness sakes? When did I approach a cozy mystery and think "well, shouldn't they all be a bit more upset about the dead people?" How unfair, because of course the point in a cozy mystery is that you aren't upset about the dead people, they are simply props, and may I help you to some more tea?This is an odd, odd book. The relationship between our main character and her love is really pec... moreuliar, and her overreaction is even more odd. Sure, the guy's a tease, but well...you don't have to be all that, now, do you? And the relationship with her sister in law is toxic. There's no other word.And, as a small business owner...please, let me entreat authors everywhere...look, I know it seems like having a small business owner as your main detective is great, and isn't it fun to think of all the nice things that happen in small business, in your quaint little quilt shoppe or your tearoom or your bed and breakfast or, god forbid, your bookstore....but...hey, don't create major crisis in the business and then have your detective owner kind of swan through the pages, every so often recalling that, oh, that's right, she just spent all the money and everything hinges on that advertisement and whoops, did I place those orders?I mean, any other business owner is going to be "um, at least delegate some of those tasks, girl!!" or "hey, go talk with your local credit union".So, here I am, all sour and critical and probably this author is charming and maybe all her other books are perfect. We will hope that is true.
review 2: This book would have been a 4 star read for all of my normal reasons: great characters, strong dialogue, excellent murder mystery with lots of complexity. Truly did not see the end coming. But it got three stars because honestly, this book stressed me out! 4/5's of this book is steeped in Dewey's financial issues, the long to-do list that must get done or else the business is bankrupt, the relationship struggles, the family discord. Honestly - it was all too much for a cozy mystery! There were almost no happy moments or moments of levity in the entire book - it was just one big ball of tense. I understand what the author was trying to accomplish, and I'd even go so far as to say she accomplished it, but reading this book was not a relaxing exercise for me.I'll have to take a break before deciding whether or not to continue reading the series. less

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