There's no nice way to say this.

I really disliked this book.

The writing was just terrible. Maybe it was too simple for me, but there was was absolutely no detail. The conversation was stiff and I found it hard to believe. Even for an Edwardian era novel, the conversation was dry. People were killed off and parties were attended all in one paragraph. I felt no sympathy for any of the characters.

Beautiful young woman just being introduced into society found bleeding in a boat? Meh.

Two men are killed in a car crash? Wait, where are we again?

Rose and Daisy are kidnapped? I really want this book to be over.

Maybe the writing style just wasn't suitable for me. I found this book boring to be frank, AND IT IS A MURDER MYSTERY.

I often see people calling characters one dimensional in reviews, and I always dismiss them as pretentious. In this case, I have never seen so many characters underdeveloped. The relationships were confusing, dialogue was dull. Rose was annoying, Daisy spoke in an unappealing manner and never had anything interesting to say other than speak about her love, Becket.

The whole "romance" between Rose and Harry was unbearable. Here is a brief summary:

Rose: Hey, I only like Harry 'cuz I don't want to go to India!
Harry: Out of the goodness of my heart, I stay with Rose.
Rose: This engagement is in name only! (insert paragraph about her feelings for him)
Harry: She is as cold as ice (insert paragraph about how he finds her aggravating but alluring)
Rose: I want to help solve a murder!
Harry: Rose, you will embarrass me *insert sexist comment here*
Rose: *angry because Harry doesn't show up at a social function* (x12)
Rose: Breaks off engagement
Harry and Rose: Dang it, we actually like each other!
Rose: Friends again?

Repeat 2 times to get the general plot of the story.


Also, as much as I love interesting historical facts, I was confused to know why I was reading quotes about George Pullman and his funeral arrangements while in the middle of a scene where the main character is travelling. This random factoid was interesting, but what the heck was it doing in the middle of the scene? I got a "hey look I did my research I'll prove it look" vibe.

Grammatical inconsistencies were annoying. A character is referred to as "Mrs. Losse"in one chapter and "Mrs. Josse" in the next. There was also a comment about "his pore sister". Is the misspelled name just there to prove that Harry didn't know that girl? Is "pore" some phrase I haven't heard of? Either way, it was distracting.


I try really hard not to bash writers as I know how much work goes in to writing a novel, and I respect anyone who has a love for it, but man, I really didn't like this book.