Title: Unexciting and uninteresting whodunnit
Product review: The only good thing about this book is that you don't have to read all of it to find out whodunnit. The identity of the murderer is obvious from chapter 2 -- even before anyone has been murdered! With their identity so clear so early on, you don't need any clues or sleuthing, which is a good thing, because there aren't any. When the showdown comes and the murderer's identity is "revealed" to anyone who has bothered to read this far, whopping great loose ends are left hanging around, leaving you asking "But why -- and what about -- ?" The setting -- a bookshop -- could have been interesting but little is made of it. This book is the first in Joan Hess's Malloy series, and as far as I'm concerned, it's also the last.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
