Welcome to Litsy!

I wasn't paying attention and the tagged returned to the library with 1 hr to go. My September #bookspin plans are already derailed!

/1 hour!!!!/

I love the way the story is told, very funny and clever as the author breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader. I was expecting some sort of literary family drama, but instead it‘s more of a murder mystery. It became a little convoluted about 60% in, but the way it was told kept me interested and engaged. Fantastic on audio. Recommended if you like old-school detective stories that follow format and still surprise you.

⭐️⭐️ When a cover and title grab you so quickly that you don‘t bother to actually read the premise. I‘m not a huge mystery fan unless it‘s a thoroughly developed story. It‘s not you, Aussie crime fiction, it‘s me. The snark and humor were fun, but I didn‘t love the story, and definitely did not dig the fourth-wall-breaking narrator.

“1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone who thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.”

Rule one of the commandments of detective fiction, which the author recommends the reader reference throughout the story.

I borrowed the audiobook from my library and it took me a while to start enjoying it, almost 50%. But once I got to that point I was invested and interested in seeing how it all worked out. I liked following along with Ernest on his journey to figure out whodunnit. His approach to the mystery as a writer felt refreshing. The ending took me completely by surprise! 3.5⭐️
(July 26, 2024)

Really enjoyed this break-the-fourth-wall whodunnit. A fun beach read even though it takes place during a blizzard!

“Family is not whose blood runs in your veins , it‘s who you would spill it for .”

#ReadMyShelves

Really enjoyed this one. Finished it too early on my flight home :( so now I‘m on a plane without a physical book 📖—- didn‘t plan well at all!

#FillYourCupFriday

🌷Spend quiet time reading
🌷Watch more Bridgeton
🌷Maybe nap
🌷Look at class documents/requirements - set up a plan (school starts Monday)
🌷1 load of laundry
🌷Get ready for my upcoming 4 days of work

I really liked this one! I loved Ern and the way he told his family‘s story. This got very twisty but was done very well. Glad I finally got to this one!

#bookspinbingo
#pop24 - book with a title that‘s a full sentence
#readordonate
#readaway2024
#tbrtarot - book by a male author

Really liked this murder mystery. A family‘s past comes to a murderous conclusion after one son gets released from prison….the other son put him there. Written in a refreshing murderous way!

My expectations were high. I thought I'd be snort-laughing at the wit while also being blown away by how intricate the mystery was. None of that happened. It doesn't make this a bad book; more that as @BarbaraJean notes this type of book works when the tone of the narrator is something that gels with you, & for a good part of the novel Ernest (the narrator) annoyed me. But it all perks up quite nicely towards the end, so it's a 3-star pick!

These are my two picks for #readordonate for May! This challenge has pushed me to read book I own! 😊

Something I‘m realizing about first-person narratives is that I need to enjoy the “company” of the person I‘m going to spend 300-ish pages with. Or they have to at least not annoy me. Unfortunately, Ernest annoyed me.

I appreciated the way Stevenson constructed this—with a section for each family member, revealing who they‘d killed. I liked the setup with the “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction.” Ernest bending over backwards to emphasize ⤵️

@wideeyedreader and I picked this one for this month‘s mother-daughter murder mystery book club. I loved it and did not see the end coming. We‘re reading the 2nd one next month 😁

I‘m starting this month‘s IRL book club pick and felt the need to show off my new bookmark, which was a birthday gift from my husband a couple of weeks ago!

I enjoyed this one a lot. A twisty murder mystery with an interesting cast of characters who all turned out to be not quite what they seemed. I didn‘t expect anything about the resolution, and I must have missed something because there was one aspect of it I still don‘t understand🤔 🤷🏻‍♀️ I realised part way through that I had read the author‘s debut, Greenlight, and didn‘t like it much. He‘s obviously improved 😆 #ozfiction

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024 Wow! This was a terrific book! I give it aaalll the stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ernest Cunningham is going to solve some mysteries during his family reunion. Creative murder mystery, a few twists and turns. I enjoyed the writer talking to the reader during the chapters and learning about each family member as Ernest solved the mysteries. My expectations may have been set too high. Overall a good read.

Thanks @ShananigansReads for hosting the #SpringBreakReadathon . I finished one book and am about 80% done with the tagged -

Make a great day everyone 🌷

Sometimes we just need to change our perspective.

#ThinkPositiveBePositive @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

(picture source: RD.COM, GETTY IMAGES)

Make a great day everyone 🐣

This was a hilarious good time — sharply funny, keenly insightful, tricky and twisty just a leetle bit deceptive. The characters were cleanly drawn, with a variety of personalities that all had hidden depths, and our narrator was self-deprecating and clever — but not TOO clever. I was caught up almost immediately and can honestly say I didn‘t see that last twist coming. Recommend for an excellent mystery and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

#hailthebail has been very freeing this month - allowed me to read more than I bailed on and now I'm reading books I really enjoy!
This is where I am in #BookSpinBingo - not sure what else I'll finish this month with work and the holiday coming up - the current reads may end up on my April list 🙂

Make a great day everyone 🐣

This book is original and fun. It plays with the format and rules for golden age detective fiction. The plot is a bit convoluted, and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but it doesn‘t detract from the story. I was often distracted by the narrator‘s pronunciation of “assume.” He uses an “sh” sound like in “shoe.” You never realize how often an author uses a word until it‘s said oddly! #audiowalk

I‘m liking this book, but I find I really do need to pay attention! I took my husband out for his birthday, and the views out the windows were what we saw as we ate our lovely meals. I kept waiting for the rain, but it never happened. #audiowalk

Took a quick trip to the beach today. The tagged book was my #audiowalk book. I read some of Murder Road sitting on the beach, and When Books Went to War is our current road trip book. It‘s really interesting. We started 4 different fiction titles — all by authors we both like — and couldn‘t get into any of them! I guess we were both in the mood for nonfiction.

This one was fun. I listened to it on audio, and the narrator was good and made the book enjoyable. I thought the story was clever and liked how it referenced murder mystery rules. It kept me guessing until the end and reminded me of my love of Agatha Christie novels when I was younger.

Low pick for me. The format was fun and quirky, but it dragged on a bit. Very much a mix of the game Clue and the movie Knives Out! (10)
⭐️: 3.25/5

I really enjoyed this mystery, so much that I started the second book as soon as I finished it. Love that it was set in Australia.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and had me laughing at some points. Very unique. I don't think I have seen another book written like this. The main character was also very likable. The only thing I can say I didn't like was when the author would speak to the reader in some parts, which took me away from the story. In the middle of a high tension moment and the author would interprupt it. I liked this most of the time, tho. 4/5

Hubby and I listened to this in the car this weekend. We both enjoyed it. I was expecting it to be on the lighter side but I enjoyed the story and how it was told. The audiobook was well done. We‘ll both be reading the next one.
#BookSpinBingo #ReadAway2024 @TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65 @DieAReader

This Aussie mystery was a lot of fun! Think ‘Knives Out‘ meets Richard Osman, with a healthy dose of meta-ness and a big old nod to classic era mysteries. I loved how each section was framed around a certain family member, and how the narrator broke the ‘fourth wall‘ giving the reader extra stuff along the way. I also didn‘t see most of the twists coming. Really looking forward to number 2 after seeing @Hooked_on_books review!

Fantastic! A little more dark, and a little less quippy than I expected, all the shades of gray, but the overall twisty mystery and meta direct-to-reader style really worked for me. [Note: I'm a fairly gullible mystery reader happy to go along for the ride, for the most part; a mystery has to be very simple for me to gauge it 'predictable.'] 1/3

I recently watched Bullet Train (2022) and it quickly became my favorite movie (anyone else love Tangerine and Lemon?). I was really craving a thriller/murder mystery with comedy kind of like Bullet Train in terms of genre and found this book at the library. I couldn‘t put it down! It had great humor and a killer that shocked me. I can‘t say I cared for any of the characters but looking forward to the sequel.

#SeriesLove2024 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

Not sure who recommended this to me, a listoholic, but I thank the Litten who did it.?

This was fun, although, as always, I had an idea of what the MacGuffin was early on and where it was hidden. Also I knew who killed "Green Boots" and why and why (no, that is not a typo, read the book or listen to it to find out why ?). But I do read very carefully and pay attention to words and punctuation.

⬇️

Finished yesterday. Enjoyed this book so much and I just saw that the sequel is coming out at the end of the month so I‘m marking this for #SeriesLove2024 too 😄 Note to self read more Australian fiction. 👌 This was my January #BookSpin. #JoyousJanuary #ReadAway2024

Witty murder mystery. Fun way it‘s told. Kept me entertained for my 2 week jury duty 🙄

Really enjoying this one. About 66% through so far. I love the asides poking fun at various book tropes like this one 😂 #ReadAway2024 #JoyousJanuary

Never posted my picks for January‘s #BookSpin / #DoubleSpin / #BookSpinBingo. Double Spin is one of my picks for #AuldLangSpine just waiting for my Libby hold to come in.

#12Booksof2023
This was a Clue-like murder mystery that was fun to read. With several characters who all have something to hide, it could have been any of them!
@Andrew65

Due to my trip to the Philippines in March, I didn't read the amount I usually do in a month. None the less, I enjoyed this quirky, funny, murder mystery. Some people found it too meta for their tastes, but I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
#12booksof2023 @Andrew65

#WinterGames #DailyPhotoChallenge Day 12 #Family
#SantasBookshELVES

This was my driving and chores listen this week. Fun little murder mystery romp! I read somewhere it felt like a combination of Knives Out and the Thursday Murder Club series, which I think is a fair aesthetic description. It was a pick for me as an amusing bit of brain candy to keep me company as got things accomplished.

Here are some wintery books for those of you who don‘t plan on adding Christmas books to your #WinterGames TBR! ❤️

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2645-48-cold-weather-novels-for-thrills-and-...

This was a Clue-like murder mystery that was fun to read. With several characters who all have something to hide, it could have been any of them!
#LitsyLoveReads

This one was a ton of fun! The mc/narrator's voice is snarky and clever, and the family dynamics are a hot mess, which makes for lots of fun tangents and misdirection. The mystery got a little convoluted toward the end, but I enjoyed the ride a lot.

This was a fun novel. Didn‘t realize it was set in Australia at first (not that that matters).

The book starts off with death, has death in the middle and a few other places. The family dynamic was interesting and I like the way the story unraveled. The audio was really enjoyable too.

This wasn‘t a stressful mystery for me to read, so I really enjoyed this book.

The frustrating thing is, I like a lot about this book, it could have been very good. I just feel the author really blocked my bond with the characters with his meta-textual commentary. Also he could have pushed the amorality of his characters further, he played it safe there. My Sister the Serial Killer still has no competition in this category.

One for those who read mysteries for the twists and turns, and don't mind a some character weakness.

A fun quirky twisty mystery. I highly recommend this on audiobook!