Reading Between the Crimes
What better time than Halloween to dig into a bracing discussion of a diabolical murder mystery? And what better choice for the Jane Doe Book Club than Agatha Christie's Crooked House? Lyla Moody and her friends are soon embroiled in debate over whether the heroine's actions are particularly believable. But not long after the meeting, sleepy Sweet Mountain, Georgia, is rocked by a murder that uncannily echoes the novel in question.
When Lyla and her grandmother arrive at the charity event that Lyla's mother is hosting, they barely have time to hang up their fall jackets before they stumble upon a body in the library. Leonard Richardson, it seems, was robbed and then hit over the head with a brass candlestick--which throws suspicion on Harper Richardson, his young widow and a friend of the Jane Does.
Lyla and the rest of the Jane Does pool their prodigious intellects to clear Harper's name. Peculiarly, all of the clues seem to have been lifted directly from the plot of Crooked House. But as Lyla probes the pages of Christie's classic whodunnit for hints on catching the killer, she uncovers secrets from her mother's past--secrets that suggest that Lyla's own house may be crooked as well.
Reading Between the Crimes by Kate Young is the 2nd A Jane Doe Book Club Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new
to the series. Lyla Moody finds herself
helping Harper Richardson after her husband is murdered in Moody’s home during a
charity soiree. Reading Between the
Crimes has a convoluted mystery. There
are a handful of suspects in this strange whodunit. There is a cliché tough guy
detective (Detective Battle) who does not believe Lyla’s story (of
course). The reveal was action packed
and filled with tension. I was left with
numerous unanswered questions at the end of the book. I would have liked a better wrap-up. I like how the mystery tied into the Jane Doe
Book Club’s current selection of Crooked House.
I wish Lyla and the ladies had compared the current murder to the one in
the book (gone into detail). Agatha Christie fans will enjoy this story. I love Lyla’s grandmother, Daisy. She is a hoot and my favorite character in
the book. I would love a cozy with her as the protagonist. There is a great deal of repetition of murder
related details, and I did not appreciate the foul language. From the summary of the book, I was anticipating
a spooky Halloween themed cozy. There
are references to the October pub crawl, but Halloween seemed to have fallen
through the cracks. I was surprised by
Lyla’s sleuthing skills. As a private
investigator, I expected her be different than an amateur sleuth. I expected her to dig deep to uncover information
especially about the victims past. I
thought she would be more curious especially when it appeared there was a
tie-in to her own mother. While I liked
the beginning, I had trouble completing Reading Between the Crimes. Reading Between the Crimes is a literary themed
cozy mystery with jovial grandmother, a Christie related crime, a remote
mother, tempting treats, a determined detective, and an alarming murder.
Kris
The
Avid Reader
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