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Generation Sleuth: The Fatal Flaw: [A Colourful Murder Mystery]
A new murder mystery duo has arrived. One detective acts like a child…the other IS ONE!Meet DCI Clive Richter, the wackiest cop on the block. Join him as he uses his analytical (albeit eccentric) mind to track down the murderer of a local racing driver who was shot in his own study. However, he won’t be solving this case alone. He will be assisted by his most creative and deceptively clever companion…his 10-year-old daughter, Eloise.
170 pages, Paperback
Published November 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 7, 2019
Memorable—for all the wrong reasons
DCI Clive Richter has been newly promoted to his position, and arrives at his new posting just in time to take charge of a murder investigation. While this is a conventional opening for a police procedural or a cozy mystery, Richter is anything but a conventional detective. Contrary to all logic, tradition and police protocols, he relies heavily on his ten-year old daughter, Eloise, for the inspirational leaps that help him solve his cases.
The premise is a cute one, for a YA novel, and the cartoon-like cover gives the impression that this murder mystery is meant for tweens and teens. However, the title is listed under the categories of ‘Traditional Detective’ and ‘Hard-boiled Mystery,’ and the language is anything but cozy.
This cavil would be easy to overlook, if the premise of the book had been well-executed. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Early on, Richter’s very annoying speech mannerism was described as a ‘garbled mesh’ of different northern accents. In fact, the entire book might be described in the similar terms—a garbled mesh.
In addition to improbable police investigative techniques, including a final scene in which all suspects are assembled at the scene of the crime to learn which one of them was the killer, and the almost complete reliance on Eloise’s leaps of intuition to solve the case, the book is replete with awkward language and errors of syntax and punctuation that should have been found by any competent copy-editor and proofreader. In addition, I found the gross overuse of a bold-faced font to highlight Richter’s odd accent, and the use of ALL CAPS combined with exclamation points to indicate excitement, to be fatal distractions, defeating any chance that I might have otherwise had to enjoy the story.
Properly executed, this novel would have made an enjoyable tween, teen or YA read. I rate it two stars.
DCI Clive Richter has been newly promoted to his position, and arrives at his new posting just in time to take charge of a murder investigation. While this is a conventional opening for a police procedural or a cozy mystery, Richter is anything but a conventional detective. Contrary to all logic, tradition and police protocols, he relies heavily on his ten-year old daughter, Eloise, for the inspirational leaps that help him solve his cases.
The premise is a cute one, for a YA novel, and the cartoon-like cover gives the impression that this murder mystery is meant for tweens and teens. However, the title is listed under the categories of ‘Traditional Detective’ and ‘Hard-boiled Mystery,’ and the language is anything but cozy.
This cavil would be easy to overlook, if the premise of the book had been well-executed. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Early on, Richter’s very annoying speech mannerism was described as a ‘garbled mesh’ of different northern accents. In fact, the entire book might be described in the similar terms—a garbled mesh.
In addition to improbable police investigative techniques, including a final scene in which all suspects are assembled at the scene of the crime to learn which one of them was the killer, and the almost complete reliance on Eloise’s leaps of intuition to solve the case, the book is replete with awkward language and errors of syntax and punctuation that should have been found by any competent copy-editor and proofreader. In addition, I found the gross overuse of a bold-faced font to highlight Richter’s odd accent, and the use of ALL CAPS combined with exclamation points to indicate excitement, to be fatal distractions, defeating any chance that I might have otherwise had to enjoy the story.
Properly executed, this novel would have made an enjoyable tween, teen or YA read. I rate it two stars.
September 22, 2019
Fantastic read - highly recommended
Awesome. Okay first a warning - plenty of swearing and a lot of changes in font. But what a terrific plot - worthy of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes! The murder of a famous racing car driver, in a locked room and with everyone having an alibi. This proved by the victim's call to the police claiming that he had found evidence relating to the murder of his wife 14 years ago.
The characters are as flamboyant as Dr Who, as clever as Sherlock Holmes and as confused as Dr Watson. Our main character is the new member of the murder squad into a small community department. He swears, wears clothing worthy of any clown and manages to upset everyone within minutes but he has a deep love for his young daughter. She is precocious, as devious as the devil as as brilliant as Einstein. Together they are an unstoppable team.
Can the pair work out who, how and why? With her outside the box suggestion and his skill at putting together the evidence. Terrific dialogue, great humour and an absolute pleasure to read.
More Please!
Awesome. Okay first a warning - plenty of swearing and a lot of changes in font. But what a terrific plot - worthy of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes! The murder of a famous racing car driver, in a locked room and with everyone having an alibi. This proved by the victim's call to the police claiming that he had found evidence relating to the murder of his wife 14 years ago.
The characters are as flamboyant as Dr Who, as clever as Sherlock Holmes and as confused as Dr Watson. Our main character is the new member of the murder squad into a small community department. He swears, wears clothing worthy of any clown and manages to upset everyone within minutes but he has a deep love for his young daughter. She is precocious, as devious as the devil as as brilliant as Einstein. Together they are an unstoppable team.
Can the pair work out who, how and why? With her outside the box suggestion and his skill at putting together the evidence. Terrific dialogue, great humour and an absolute pleasure to read.
More Please!
December 8, 2019
When a local race car driver is murdered. Policeman Clive Richter steps in to get to the bottom of things. He is not alone in searching for the killer, his 10-year-old daughter, Eloise, is also on the case. This is a good mystery for all ages.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews