Em

⭐⭐⭐ (3 Stars)

I love a good murder mystery, and I LOVE a story with older main characters, so this book felt like it would be right up my alley. I did find the cadence of the story unique, with so many different POVs. It felt a little like putting a puzzle together chapter by chapter, combining everything that each character knew into a case file. I also love our characters and I can't wait to see them come to life on screen in the new Netflix movie. But in the end, I felt like there were two many red herrings — too many individual stories that were revealed and made to seem as though they were revealing the final truth of it all. I think I was hoping for a little more suspense and way more humor than we get, it was all rather tame. I didn't guess the murderer though—so I'll give it that!

Lib

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 Stars)

3.5. I’ll preface by saying Agatha Christie is my favorite author. That being said, I really had big expectations for this book that it simply didn’t meet, because all the Christie lovers I know also love this book. It took cozy mystery to a level of cozy where I simply didn’t feel drawn to the story, and it never really felt like there was much pickup in pace. That could very well be a purposeful reflection of the characters’ age/stage of life, but it didn’t compel me to immerse myself in the story. Also, after hearing that the writer typically did film writing, it finally made sense of what was missing. There was so much driven by dialogue, the short chapters were like scenes, and the world and character building didn’t really exist, which makes much more sense for a tv writer, as it relies on visual artistry to complete the setting and story. The amount of red herrings was a bit excessive too. Still, it was well written, I loved the concept, and the banter and overarching story were great, but just not quite enough for me.

Liz

DNF 🫣

Okay hear me out. I laughed a couple times, the setting and banter were heart warming, but overall I was bored and there was nothing compelling me forward. I think my biggest issue was the shear amount of dialogue. That coupled with the short chapters made it feel choppy and disconnected, making it hard to picture where we were in the story.

Overall others may enjoy but not my vibe.