Riddled to Death

Hummingbird Falls #2

by Joanne Clarey

Ellie Hastings receives a series of threatening notes, presented as riddles. She must solve the riddles by the deadline or something unknown and terrible will happen. An unidentified woman is murdered, a child is missing, a strange family moves into the tiny mountain village and gunshots intimidate the residents. Ellie joins with Police Chief Dave Shaffer to investigate the most puzzling mysteries she has faced. Who is the riddler and why has he targeted Ellie? Accompanied by her beloved mutt Buddy, Ellie attempts to follow the clues, solve the riddles and protect her little mountain village from the unknown.

Genres: Mystery

204 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2006

Reviews

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

I try not to judge a mystery until the very end, because even if the main character is jumpy, tightly-wound, oblivious in a not-quite-endearing way, perhaps the story will pull together in in a satisfying climax. This one didn't. There were at least four mystery-style plotlines, I solved what I guess is the main one very early, and the others were completely disconnected. It wasn't an offensively bad book, but it completely fails as a mystery and I saw nothing to like about the characters.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was written well, but had too many stories going on at one time for me. Ellie's strange letters, the shots in the woods, the dead body, the child that was kidnapped for just a few minutes, the new police officer, etc.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather uneven book. I caught at least two malapropisms, saying someone sacheted, rather than sashayed, from a room, and that someone winched, when "wince" would have been appropriate. Although I prefer positive endings, this one was wrapped up in a rather fakey way, and the whole book seemed a bit--simple perhaps? Even the riddles, the theme of the book, were mediocre. I am not saying I could do better, but my errors would perhaps be more sophisticated. Riddled by buckshot, riddled to death indeed.

[ChrisGA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable cozy

[Miranda Geurin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very quick, entertaining read that I did enjoy, but I am still mad over the ending. 🤦🏻‍♀️