This one took a little bit to get started. Maybe because in the first book there were already ‘things at stake’ before the murders began. And it was interesting getting to know the family members. Whereas here the different authors didn’t really come across as appealing or likeable.

I also struggled a bit with the meta-ness of the book. Not so much the name count and stuff, but how the first book was supposedly also released in the world of the book and I’m pretty sure it had some incriminating stuff about his step-sister which would have had consequences if it was released as is. So the book-book is probably somewhat different to the actual first book? Which is kinda confusing. I guess I also got a bit of whiplash from the cavalier tone of the first book and then having Ernest suffer from survivor’s guilt. I guess that makes sense and is realistic but it felt jarring. I also don’t remember Ernest coming across as that much of an idiot in the first book? I was dreading the point he accused Juliette of murder (which was very very telegraphed). And jumping off the train to chase the car-jacker and falling into a hole because of his carelessness… He did kind of feel like he was living like ‘the main character’ aka invincible. I appreciated Detective Hatch putting him in his place (even if Ernest did solve it all in the end).

I wasn’t really trying to figure out who the killer was. I don’t really care about being the one to make the deduction (in fact if I figure it out, my reaction is that the mystery wasn’t good enough). For me it’s more about the journey and learning how all the little bits and pieces fit together in the end. So the things I noticed/thought were odd and appreciated the significance of:

• The broken kettle. I like tea, if I was on the train I would have been so sad the kettle was broken. And it was mentioned at least twice so I was curious if it would be important
• Wolfgang’s list of awards including being one for women writers. My first reaction was ‘is this some sexist bullshit’ but it actually did have significance
• Lisa giving Brooke aloe vera during one of the outings

The review code was very obvious, so much so that I kind of disregarded it. And dammit Andy got me with his lack of attention to details 😂 I kinda forgot that his client was a horticulturalist not a florist.

So as mentioned before, I didn’t care for the meta stuff that much, I didn’t even bother reading the name counts. But I kind of did appreciate how Lisa was angling to be included in his eventual/potential book and how Simone was trying hard to not be in it. And I also liked the second epilogue from Juliette. It kinda felt like a ‘serves you right’ to Ernest to be honest 😅 But it is nice that Juliette will most probably be returning in the subsequent book/s. She’s too good for Ernest but maybe he can grow into his position as boyfriend/fiancee.

The mystery itself was well constructed. It was a bit depressing the way many women were treated and were kind of forced to treat each other. But also realistic and at least things worked out for most of them in the end (kind of a like a Kingsbridge novel where lots of women suffer tremendously but end up getting their happy ending). Wolfgang seemed like a bit of an asshole but I did find his interactive art exhibit entertaining haha. Also once the novel hit it’s stride it was hard to put it down (I binge read like the last 30%).

So I guess my expectations are tempered slightly for the next book but I’ll still definitely be reading it.

Categories: Book Reviews

Tagged as: An Ernest Cunningham Mystery Benjamin Stevenson

hikaru