This book was a real act of imagination in its structure, seven murder mystery short stories sandwiched with another mystery that unfolds over the course of the book - who wrote them?
I for one was really taken with it, such an interesting premise! It helped that the first story was gripping, with twists that kept me turning pages, albeit rather grisly ones. That was evident in several of the stories, the could be pretty tough. The stories were supposedly published in a collection that was intended to prove that murder mysteries follow a mathematical formula that can be described and identified.
To a certain degree, that formula dulled the stories, and made them repetitive despite the wildly different settings and plot lines. And the interruption of the present day search for the author (the so-called eighth detective carrying out the investigation) broke up the atmosphere in a way not completely welcome.
So, the group was relatively split on how enjoyable this book was - I liked it, some others did too but far from everyone.
Our next book is Code Girls by Liza Mundy. This is a true story of women who worked to break codes during World War 2, and were then forgotten. Thanks Sally Graham for the recommendation, it has great reviews.
Other books recommended were The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown, The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen, The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson and A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabelle Allende. They may all have been Sally Graham recommendations!
Our next meeting is August 17, anyone able to host? See you all then!
