purplepenning's Reviews (1.72k)

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

The Myrtle Hardcastle mysteries continue to be delightful! For a special treat, pick this one up on audio. (They're all excellent on audio, but the narrator handles the Scottish dialect and explanations particularly well.)

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced
adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

I'm not sure it's fair to rate or review this book on its own because I'm not convinced it's a whole book. I would've much preferred if this and The Wonder Engine had been published as a single 500+ page book called The Clocktaur War. Together, they rate above 4 stars, but they definitely suffer from being separated. 
adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

In 1972, a construction crew finds a skeleton in the bottom of a well in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. But really, that's the end of the story. The real story takes place in the minority community of Chicken Hill in the 1930s, when Black and Jewish neighbors, estranged friends, quiet community protectors, well-intentioned hustlers, crooked public officials, morally diseased doctors, bankrolling mobsters, predatory monsters, and one deaf child intersect to reveal how an extraordinary community of communities came together to support and protect each other.     

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