There is a lot to unpack with this book. It for sure is a cozy mystery novel. I don't think I understood what that meant until I read this book. It for sure isn’t a book to write home about but it was pleasant and engaging that was easy to follow even with so many characters. It is three hundred and seventy pages long but I felt like it was only two hundred. That’s a good thing.
I agree the book cover and title make no sense once you finish the book, but I really don’t care and am not here to be worried about a few words and a picture.
I wasn’t a fan of Mr. Tadeckis because throughout the story he repeatedly told Luke that they both know who the killer is (but the story follows Luke figuring it out), and I think that is so weird. Mr. Tadeckis won't even tell the police because he “doesn't want to get wrapped up in all of it” so either he has a history of some sort or is doing something illegal, but nothing like this is addressed in the book. He also says in the end of the book that it was a test for Luke because he thought his first escape from a kidnapper was luck. Again, very weird.
I would’ve liked Mr. Tadeckis to be used a little differently in that he could’ve urged Luke to continue looking for the killer when he felt unmotivated. This would’ve cut down on the way too cheesy and highly unrealistic stumbling upon new evidence instances that Luke frequently encounters throughout the book.
I didn't like how the author would also refer to characters as their stereotype such as the “cool teacher” or the “nerdy dork back in the day.” It’s a little bit bothersome and takes away from the book.
I really enjoyed that the characters had developed back stories before the plot of the book was set. It did a great job at providing depth to the characters and that they have experienced more than just the “all was well in their small perfect town, until one day when there was a murder.” I feel like this is the first book to really consider that things can happen before the big plot of the book. These would be great second books as prequels. For instance Luke’s kidnapping. It would be great to see him and Pippa track down the British man with flashbacks of the kidnapping. Pippa also has an interesting background that I would like to know more about (view spoiler)[which it sounds like we’ll get that in a book to come (hide spoiler)]. Even a prequel about the strangler would be entertaining. Like how all the murders went down and how (s)he escaped all suspicion for all those years.
Another thing that bothered me was that the adults acted like children which was kind of annoying. I know teachers gossip and have their own issues and whatnot but it was to the point of being unrealistic.
There were also points in the book that were never tied up. I guess maybe the author forgot about them or we’re just supposed to come up with our own conclusion. Maybe even just assume it was Mr. Tadeckis (if it was him, he really has some issues). For example, (view spoiler)[what was the point of someone pulling up an article on a computer that Luke was just on? Obviously they had to have looked it up because he cleared his browsing history. (hide spoiler)]
Luke’s character was fine. There were parts that I liked about him and others that I found myself thinking “wow, you’re such a dude” and not in a good way. He for sure gave off pick me vibes but would turn around and act like a typical “boys will be boys” kind of way mostly in his internal thoughts.
Overall, a pleasant read and I’m not upset about the ending but I also didn’t get any shocked feelings like I look for in other mystery books.
I agree the book cover and title make no sense once you finish the book, but I really don’t care and am not here to be worried about a few words and a picture.
I wasn’t a fan of Mr. Tadeckis because throughout the story he repeatedly told Luke that they both know who the killer is (but the story follows Luke figuring it out), and I think that is so weird. Mr. Tadeckis won't even tell the police because he “doesn't want to get wrapped up in all of it” so either he has a history of some sort or is doing something illegal, but nothing like this is addressed in the book. He also says in the end of the book that it was a test for Luke because he thought his first escape from a kidnapper was luck. Again, very weird.
I would’ve liked Mr. Tadeckis to be used a little differently in that he could’ve urged Luke to continue looking for the killer when he felt unmotivated. This would’ve cut down on the way too cheesy and highly unrealistic stumbling upon new evidence instances that Luke frequently encounters throughout the book.
I didn't like how the author would also refer to characters as their stereotype such as the “cool teacher” or the “nerdy dork back in the day.” It’s a little bit bothersome and takes away from the book.
I really enjoyed that the characters had developed back stories before the plot of the book was set. It did a great job at providing depth to the characters and that they have experienced more than just the “all was well in their small perfect town, until one day when there was a murder.” I feel like this is the first book to really consider that things can happen before the big plot of the book. These would be great second books as prequels. For instance Luke’s kidnapping. It would be great to see him and Pippa track down the British man with flashbacks of the kidnapping. Pippa also has an interesting background that I would like to know more about (view spoiler)[which it sounds like we’ll get that in a book to come (hide spoiler)]. Even a prequel about the strangler would be entertaining. Like how all the murders went down and how (s)he escaped all suspicion for all those years.
Another thing that bothered me was that the adults acted like children which was kind of annoying. I know teachers gossip and have their own issues and whatnot but it was to the point of being unrealistic.
There were also points in the book that were never tied up. I guess maybe the author forgot about them or we’re just supposed to come up with our own conclusion. Maybe even just assume it was Mr. Tadeckis (if it was him, he really has some issues). For example, (view spoiler)[what was the point of someone pulling up an article on a computer that Luke was just on? Obviously they had to have looked it up because he cleared his browsing history. (hide spoiler)]
Luke’s character was fine. There were parts that I liked about him and others that I found myself thinking “wow, you’re such a dude” and not in a good way. He for sure gave off pick me vibes but would turn around and act like a typical “boys will be boys” kind of way mostly in his internal thoughts.
Overall, a pleasant read and I’m not upset about the ending but I also didn’t get any shocked feelings like I look for in other mystery books.