It is rare to get a book that I couldn’t finish, but unfortunately I couldn’t get through this one.
I recently thought I’d try to read some “locked room” mysteries, as I had read that it was its own developed subcategory of mystery novels. I picked two that seemed interesting, and this one was available at my library.
The book appears to be written targeting teenage audiences, and the writing seems awkward and unnatural. There is a lot of information dumping here – instead of showing there is just page upon page of telling. In this main character’s world everyone else is simply a side character, and she treats them that way.
Obviously the writer enjoys the genre and spends a lot of time focusing on nods to enthusiasts that eat this stuff up (think Star Trek fans but about magicians) and the settings of the book are going for a cozy vibe – but it seemed like too much setup and not much development.
I got through about half the book, and I ended up doing some mental algebra and it seemed like there wasn’t going to be any payoff worth what I’d have to put in to finish.
However, I’m not giving up on the genre – just as I threw in the towel on this one, the other title on my list to try became available at the library, so I’ll give it another chance. Hopefully the writing quality will be better.
The next book is called Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead. Let’s hope it is worth finishing!
