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ppcfransen's Reviews (563)
There is much telling, very little sleuthing. Possibly, because the story is set in Italy and the main sleuth speaks very little Italian.
Suddenly, the murder is solved.
Suddenly, the murder is solved.
It took a while to get into this book. It’s third person past tense and uses the past perfect a lot. Not my preffered narrative form. But after the past perfect was dropped, it got easier to read.
Eve Brook is hired as manuscript doctor for a biography on an Elizabethan hero. First, she has to find the manuscript. The author is dead and his widow doesn’t have it (or care where it’s gone off too). Eve sets out of a quest to find the missing manuscript. After a few meetings with people who might know more, I started to wonder: why bother? The author doesn’t seem to have been a pleasant man to be around and the biography would probably be more of a coat rack for his anti-woke world view, than an honest biography of Philip Sidney. I believe Eve would have a hard time sloughing herself through that manuscript.
It seems, though, there is no manuscript. Hurray for that. Then Eve is asked it arrange the memorial service for the author. And she decides to accept.
I decided I had read enough. Arranging events is not her usual job and she neither knew nor liked the man. She decided to accept because it would give her another chance to talk to the people the author left behind.
I don’t want to know.
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
Eve Brook is hired as manuscript doctor for a biography on an Elizabethan hero. First, she has to find the manuscript. The author is dead and his widow doesn’t have it (or care where it’s gone off too). Eve sets out of a quest to find the missing manuscript. After a few meetings with people who might know more, I started to wonder: why bother? The author doesn’t seem to have been a pleasant man to be around and the biography would probably be more of a coat rack for his anti-woke world view, than an honest biography of Philip Sidney. I believe Eve would have a hard time sloughing herself through that manuscript.
It seems, though, there is no manuscript. Hurray for that. Then Eve is asked it arrange the memorial service for the author. And she decides to accept.
I decided I had read enough. Arranging events is not her usual job and she neither knew nor liked the man. She decided to accept because it would give her another chance to talk to the people the author left behind.
I don’t want to know.
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
Enjoyable read.
Alice is asked by her ex to sell his collection of chess sets. All is fine until some chess pieces go missing and the man who was last seen playong with them is found dead.
In this mystery there is no amateur sleuth trying to find suspects for the murder. But Alice is curious why a cheap replica would attract so much excitement.
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
Alice is asked by her ex to sell his collection of chess sets. All is fine until some chess pieces go missing and the man who was last seen playong with them is found dead.
In this mystery there is no amateur sleuth trying to find suspects for the murder. But Alice is curious why a cheap replica would attract so much excitement.
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
This book took altogether too long to read. I didn’t feel invested in it for the most part. I didn’t find the characters sympathetic, felt no urgency for the murder to be solved and there was too much domestic talk.
Juniper Blume has just started her new job as head librarian of the Calverton collection. On her first day she is accosted be protestors when she tries to enter the Calverton estate, and she finds out funding for the museum she would be setting up has been frozen. Her second day is even more eventful when she meets the Calverton board for lunch and upon her return to the reading room she finds a dead body. (The book keeps refering to the second day as her first day and that made me roll my eyes a few times. Though I didnot roll me eyes nearly as often as Juniper did.)
Juniper thinks his death has something to do with the book that was next to him on the desk. The Calverton board agrees with her and she’s asked to investigate. What I’d actually like to know is: how did the victim get past security? He’s found in a building he’s not supposed to be in. How did he get there?
There’s a lot of fluffy domestic stuff and it takes a while before anything resembling an investigation by Juniper gets on the way. It’s probably because Juniper is easily bullied by people. I guess that makes it hard for her to step up to people and ask questions. At least it makes it hard for her to eat lunch. But when the investigation gets going, the story did manage to hold my attention. At least a little bit.
There are some unnecessary repetitions, such as Leo is a gluten-free vegan and Rory’s staying with Harmoney his aunt. And there us more than one person that snaps their fingers in a “oh, yeah, that’s right sense.”
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
Juniper Blume has just started her new job as head librarian of the Calverton collection. On her first day she is accosted be protestors when she tries to enter the Calverton estate, and she finds out funding for the museum she would be setting up has been frozen. Her second day is even more eventful when she meets the Calverton board for lunch and upon her return to the reading room she finds a dead body. (The book keeps refering to the second day as her first day and that made me roll my eyes a few times. Though I didnot roll me eyes nearly as often as Juniper did.)
Juniper thinks his death has something to do with the book that was next to him on the desk. The Calverton board agrees with her and she’s asked to investigate. What I’d actually like to know is: how did the victim get past security? He’s found in a building he’s not supposed to be in. How did he get there?
There’s a lot of fluffy domestic stuff and it takes a while before anything resembling an investigation by Juniper gets on the way. It’s probably because Juniper is easily bullied by people. I guess that makes it hard for her to step up to people and ask questions. At least it makes it hard for her to eat lunch. But when the investigation gets going, the story did manage to hold my attention. At least a little bit.
There are some unnecessary repetitions, such as Leo is a gluten-free vegan and Rory’s staying with Harmoney his aunt. And there us more than one person that snaps their fingers in a “oh, yeah, that’s right sense.”
I read an ARC through NetGalley.
Leest lekker weg met een intelligente hoofdpersoon, zoals al Vanessa Thuyns’ boeken.
Ik vond Jaspers reactie op de weddenschap wel wat overtrokken. Hij is advocaat en had beter moeten weten dan op zijn eigen aannames te varen. Besides,techniscg gezien heeft Robine de weddenschap verloren: zij heeft Jasper niet meegevraagd, dat deed haar zus.
Ik vond Jaspers reactie op de weddenschap wel wat overtrokken. Hij is advocaat en had beter moeten weten dan op zijn eigen aannames te varen. Besides,
I liked the setting in a community with Amish; it provided some unusual colour local. But other than some mentions of gas lights and no electricity in the living quarters, there was very little indication of the setting among Amish. Perhaps I expected more of a cultural clash, but even Cass did not suffer much of a cultural clash when she came to stay for a few days.
There were even a few things I wondered if Amish would do that: an Amish girl named Emily (it seemed like a rather modern name, particularly compared to the brother and sister named Abel and Esther) and on Saturday, several characters - including Clara King - say something like "the shop can open again tomorrow." But that would be a Sunday, for many Christians a day on which you do not work if it is not necessary. Selling candies is not really a necessity.
One thing that bothered me was that Bailey conveniently overheard conversations where the speaker was either more likely not to speak with Bailey near them, or they spoke English while they said their important things, and then switched to Pennsylvania Dutch to continue. That seemed a bit artificial.
Also, if Bailey spent all her Summers as a child with her grandparents and her grandfather thought her all about making candy, how come they never thought her more than a few words of Pennsylvania Dutch? Her grandparents and all the other Amish must have been very careful never to speak Pennsylvania Dutch when she was around. Kids pick up language very quickly.
There were even a few things I wondered if Amish would do that: an Amish girl named Emily (it seemed like a rather modern name, particularly compared to the brother and sister named Abel and Esther) and on Saturday, several characters - including Clara King - say something like "the shop can open again tomorrow." But that would be a Sunday, for many Christians a day on which you do not work if it is not necessary. Selling candies is not really a necessity.
One thing that bothered me was that Bailey conveniently overheard conversations where the speaker was either more likely not to speak with Bailey near them, or they spoke English while they said their important things, and then switched to Pennsylvania Dutch to continue. That seemed a bit artificial.
Also, if Bailey spent all her Summers as a child with her grandparents and her grandfather thought her all about making candy, how come they never thought her more than a few words of Pennsylvania Dutch? Her grandparents and all the other Amish must have been very careful never to speak Pennsylvania Dutch when she was around. Kids pick up language very quickly.
2.5 stars
It was an okay story, but the writing was some what bland. It did not grip me.
As with most cozies the reason the main character is made the prime suspect are weak, yet Lucy did not argue against them when the police said she had motive and opportunity: she was seen arguing with the victim in a bar, the victim then delivered a bad health inspection to her parents' restaurant and she delivered the food that may have killed the victim. Though really, Lucy has probably corrected people all through her life that called her parents foreigners. And when you get a bad report for a health inspection, you don't expect the health inspector to come back the next day to have a meal. Plus killing them doesn't make the bad report go away.
Even if those are obvious points, it doesn't hurt if one of the characters points them out.
It was an okay story, but the writing was some what bland. It did not grip me.
As with most cozies the reason the main character is made the prime suspect are weak, yet Lucy did not argue against them when the police said she had motive and opportunity: she was seen arguing with the victim in a bar, the victim then delivered a bad health inspection to her parents' restaurant and she delivered the food that may have killed the victim. Though really, Lucy has probably corrected people all through her life that called her parents foreigners. And when you get a bad report for a health inspection, you don't expect the health inspector to come back the next day to have a meal. Plus killing them doesn't make the bad report go away.
Even if those are obvious points, it doesn't hurt if one of the characters points them out.
Four short stories by four authors of cozy mysteries. I've only read one of the authors before, so this was mostly an introduction to the other three.
Slay Belles by Nancy Martin - I've read book one in the Blackbird series, so I remembered some of the characters, mostly by name, not so much their particulars. It was a fun story, though the end annoyed me. Nora realises who did it and then goes after the murderer rather than inform the police of her suspicions. I don't remember Nora being too stupid to live from the book I read.
Killer Blond by Elaine Viets - I like this story best. It's a framework story, so other than the mention of a character, it doesn't really tie-in with the Dead-End Job series. Great set-up, great pay-off. I'm subtly reminded of The Colorado Kid - as that too is a framework story. I really like to read more by Elaine Viets after this story.
Dead Blonds tell no Tales by Denise Swanson - there's probably a good story in there, but it would have worked better if there had been more pages to tell it. That might have led to a better reason to want Ruby dead, because the reason given just did not make sense, at least not to someone capable of thinking things through.
Blind sighted by Victoria Laurie - I liked this story, except for all the mumblings about professional physics. Apperantly, there is a whole bunch of them, so there must be great demand for their services. The ending annoyed me again, this time as the ghosts came tumbling out of the machine head over heels. (Although the 'devout atheïsts' gave me giggles)
Slay Belles by Nancy Martin - I've read book one in the Blackbird series, so I remembered some of the characters, mostly by name, not so much their particulars. It was a fun story, though the end annoyed me. Nora realises who did it and then goes after the murderer rather than inform the police of her suspicions. I don't remember Nora being too stupid to live from the book I read.
Killer Blond by Elaine Viets - I like this story best. It's a framework story, so other than the mention of a character, it doesn't really tie-in with the Dead-End Job series. Great set-up, great pay-off. I'm subtly reminded of The Colorado Kid - as that too is a framework story. I really like to read more by Elaine Viets after this story.
Dead Blonds tell no Tales by Denise Swanson - there's probably a good story in there, but it would have worked better if there had been more pages to tell it. That might have led to a better reason to want Ruby dead, because the reason given just did not make sense, at least not to someone capable of thinking things through.
Blind sighted by Victoria Laurie - I liked this story, except for all the mumblings about professional physics. Apperantly, there is a whole bunch of them, so there must be great demand for their services. The ending annoyed me again, this time as the ghosts came tumbling out of the machine head over heels. (Although the 'devout atheïsts' gave me giggles)
Georgie's got things on her mind: her husband's been missing for a few days, she's been receiving weird e-mails and her friend Keith is showing an unusual interest in her. Then she finds the body of fellow restauranteur Big Dom floating face down in the water. But Georgie has no time to solve a murder, she needs to find a hidden treasure to use as randsom to get her husband back.
I liked that a murder was jot the main focus of this cozy; that set it out from the rest, but I had figured out the mystery of the ghost and the baddy pretty early on. For a big part, I was reading on to find out when Georgie would realise things. Pretty darn late.
The big reveal at the end was a bit ridiculous. A fun read though.
I liked that a murder was jot the main focus of this cozy; that set it out from the rest, but I had figured out the mystery of the ghost and the baddy pretty early on. For a big part, I was reading on to find out when Georgie would realise things. Pretty darn late.
The big reveal at the end was a bit ridiculous
Spoiler
particularly the part where Jack saw it fit to kiss Georgie. They've only known eachother for about 20 minutes
In het boek Gesplitst van Neal Shusterman heeft de medische wetenschap enkele grote sprongen vooruit gemaakt. Zo is het niet alleen mogelijk om donororganen te transplanteren, maar kunnen hele lichaamsdelen, zoals armen en zelfs hersenen, van een lichaam naar een ander lichaam getransplanteerd worden. Het hele lichaam kan worden hergebruikt. Veel aandoeningen die in de huidige wereld niet genezen kunnen worden, zijn in Gesplitst wel te genezen.
Het boek speelt zich af in Amerika in een verzonnen toekomst. De meningsverschillen over abortus werden zo heftig, dat dit leidde tot een burgeroorlog. Bij de besprekingen over de vrede is afgesproken dat abortus verboden is. Je zou denken dat in deze wereld de mensen bescherming en verbetering van het leven erg belangrijk vinden. Dat blijkt tegen te vallen.
Vreemde wetten
Bescherming van het leven geldt eigenlijk alleen maar voor ongeboren kinderen. Zodra ze geboren zijn, zijn ze vogelvrij. Het is bijvoorbeeld toegestaan om een kind te vondeling te leggen. (Dit heet ooievaren in het boek.) De ouder legt het kind bij iemand voor de voordeur en als de ouder niet betrapt wordt, gaat nooit meer iemand naar de ouder op zoek. Het is wel zo dat mensen die het kind vinden er voor moeten zorgen. Maar ook zij kunnen het kind weer te vondeling leggen bij een andere deur. Zo kan een kind van deur tot deur gaan tot het ergens wordt opgenomen, of tot het dood gaat omdat er niemand voor wil zorgen.
Wat een verschil met Nederland waar het verboden is om een een kind te vondeling te leggen. Een kind heeft namelijk recht op een goede verzorging en een kind heeft het recht om zijn afkomst te kennen. In Gesplitst wordt aan dat laatste helemaal geen aandacht besteed. Het is vreemd dat de mensen in die wereld wel bezwaar hebben tegen abortus omdat het een inbreuk is op het menselijk leven, maar dat ze geen bezwaar hebben tegen de Ooievaarwet waarbij een mens (een kind) als een stuk zwerfvuil op straat achtergelaten kan worden.
Nog zo’n vreemde wet in het boek is de Splitsingswet. Ouders of voogden hebben het recht om hun kind als het tussen de 13 en 18 jaar oud is te laten splitsen. Splitsen betekent dat het kind helemaal uit elkaar gehaald wordt en dat de organen en lichaamsdelen worden hergebruikt om andere mensen te genezen. Ook dat lijkt een wet die maar moeilijk te rijmen is met respect voor het menselijk leven. In de wereld van Gesplitst wordt gezegd dat de gesplitste voorleeft in vele lichamen. Dat klinkt vooral als een wanhopige poging om het opzettelijk doden van tieners goed te praten.
Ethiek in deze wereld?
Kijk je vanuit de ethiek naar de wereld in Gesplitst, dan kun je alleen met het utilisme proberen dit soort wetten te begrijpen: de wetten zouden kunnen leiden tot meer geluk. Immers, met één lichaam kunnen veel levens gered of verbeterd worden. Daarbij worden voornamelijk nutteloze of criminele tieners gesplitst. Ook minder criminelen en minder nutteloze mensen leidt tot meer geluk in een maatschappij.
De plichtethiek van Kant staat heel ver af van de maatschappij in Gesplitst. Volgens de plichtethiek is het belangrijk om een ander mens niet als een middel te behandelen, maar als een doel. In Gesplitst worden baby’s en tieners juist als middelen, als voorwerpen behandeld. Een ongewenst kind mag je zomaar ergens achterlaten en een ongewenste tiener mag je gebruiken als voorraad onderdelen.
Het boek gaat niet over ethiek. Het boek gaat over drie tieners die in zo’n wereld proberen te overleven. De vraag hoe de volwassenen het zover hebben laten komen en waarom ze niet stoppen met het ooievaren en splitsen wordt niet beantwoordt.
Eindoordeel
Ondanks de ongeloofwaardige premisse leest het boek snel weg. Ik stoorde mij wel nog aan het einde: Daarom tweeëneenhalve ster afgerond naar drie.
Het boek speelt zich af in Amerika in een verzonnen toekomst. De meningsverschillen over abortus werden zo heftig, dat dit leidde tot een burgeroorlog. Bij de besprekingen over de vrede is afgesproken dat abortus verboden is. Je zou denken dat in deze wereld de mensen bescherming en verbetering van het leven erg belangrijk vinden. Dat blijkt tegen te vallen.
Vreemde wetten
Bescherming van het leven geldt eigenlijk alleen maar voor ongeboren kinderen. Zodra ze geboren zijn, zijn ze vogelvrij. Het is bijvoorbeeld toegestaan om een kind te vondeling te leggen. (Dit heet ooievaren in het boek.) De ouder legt het kind bij iemand voor de voordeur en als de ouder niet betrapt wordt, gaat nooit meer iemand naar de ouder op zoek. Het is wel zo dat mensen die het kind vinden er voor moeten zorgen. Maar ook zij kunnen het kind weer te vondeling leggen bij een andere deur. Zo kan een kind van deur tot deur gaan tot het ergens wordt opgenomen, of tot het dood gaat omdat er niemand voor wil zorgen.
Wat een verschil met Nederland waar het verboden is om een een kind te vondeling te leggen. Een kind heeft namelijk recht op een goede verzorging en een kind heeft het recht om zijn afkomst te kennen. In Gesplitst wordt aan dat laatste helemaal geen aandacht besteed. Het is vreemd dat de mensen in die wereld wel bezwaar hebben tegen abortus omdat het een inbreuk is op het menselijk leven, maar dat ze geen bezwaar hebben tegen de Ooievaarwet waarbij een mens (een kind) als een stuk zwerfvuil op straat achtergelaten kan worden.
Nog zo’n vreemde wet in het boek is de Splitsingswet. Ouders of voogden hebben het recht om hun kind als het tussen de 13 en 18 jaar oud is te laten splitsen. Splitsen betekent dat het kind helemaal uit elkaar gehaald wordt en dat de organen en lichaamsdelen worden hergebruikt om andere mensen te genezen. Ook dat lijkt een wet die maar moeilijk te rijmen is met respect voor het menselijk leven. In de wereld van Gesplitst wordt gezegd dat de gesplitste voorleeft in vele lichamen. Dat klinkt vooral als een wanhopige poging om het opzettelijk doden van tieners goed te praten.
Ethiek in deze wereld?
Kijk je vanuit de ethiek naar de wereld in Gesplitst, dan kun je alleen met het utilisme proberen dit soort wetten te begrijpen: de wetten zouden kunnen leiden tot meer geluk. Immers, met één lichaam kunnen veel levens gered of verbeterd worden. Daarbij worden voornamelijk nutteloze of criminele tieners gesplitst. Ook minder criminelen en minder nutteloze mensen leidt tot meer geluk in een maatschappij.
De plichtethiek van Kant staat heel ver af van de maatschappij in Gesplitst. Volgens de plichtethiek is het belangrijk om een ander mens niet als een middel te behandelen, maar als een doel. In Gesplitst worden baby’s en tieners juist als middelen, als voorwerpen behandeld. Een ongewenst kind mag je zomaar ergens achterlaten en een ongewenste tiener mag je gebruiken als voorraad onderdelen.
Het boek gaat niet over ethiek. Het boek gaat over drie tieners die in zo’n wereld proberen te overleven. De vraag hoe de volwassenen het zover hebben laten komen en waarom ze niet stoppen met het ooievaren en splitsen wordt niet beantwoordt.
Eindoordeel
Ondanks de ongeloofwaardige premisse leest het boek snel weg. Ik stoorde mij wel nog aan het einde: