pickThis isn't a murder mystery, but a Susan Scarlett romance with a heaping dash of Celia Fremlin-esque domestic peril. It starts off cute then escalates fast 💀 Like @CarolynM says it made me feel sad about the conditions of life for vulnerable older people; it felt contemporary in that it reminded me of pandemic lockdowns & post-pandemic life in terms of isolation & abuse in the home. Quite dark compared to the usual #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub fare!
batsy I was quite unnerved by Desmond & also felt bad for him. I was a little troubled by how a child with some issues who just needed a guiding hand was instead made out to be a little Omen-ish, but that's to be expected with fiction from this era I guess. I was also like WHAT is everyone's problem with "clever girls" especially if they wear glasses? My god. Do they think girls with glasses turn into owls at night or something ? 4mo
Tamra Fantastic summary! 4mo
Tamra @batsy yes, the “clever” girl thing was an annoying theme. 😏 4mo
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batsy @Aimeesue @CarolynM @catebutler @Cathythoughts @CatLass007 @elkeOriginal @erzascarletbookgasm @Jess_Read_This @jlhammar @julieclair @Kimzey @kwmg40 @LeahBergen @Lizpixie @MrsK @quietjenn @rubyslippersreads @Ruthiella @Tamra @Teresereading @willaful 4mo
batsy @Tamra Thank you! I got a bit defensive over the whole girls with glasses thing 🤣🤓 4mo
rubyslippersreads @batsy I wear glasses, and now you‘ve given away my secret! 🤣🦉 4mo
batsy @rubyslippersreads You and me both 😆🦉🦉 4mo
Ruthiella Great review! I totally missed the clever girl stuff, though, so thanks for pointing it out. It‘s funny what a reader will pick up on (or not in my case)!😂 4mo
LeahBergen The old “men don‘t make passes at girls who wear glasses”. 😂😂 (as I sit here in my big honking thick specs!) 4mo
jlhammar Yes, so glad you mentioned all that clever girl stuff! I felt the same. 4mo
willaful @batsy that was one of the things I really didn't like. I'm pretty sensitive about disability representation. 4mo
Cathythoughts Celia Fremlin-esque … I‘m even more interested now 😁 4mo
batsy @Ruthiella Thanks! It just came up in an off-handed way a few times about the girls who are right for marrying... And towards the end it was mentioned that Mr Former couldn't bear Clara because he "destested clever women" and I was like good god! ? 4mo
batsy @LeahBergen Exactly this! 🤣 #justiceforwomeninglasses 4mo
batsy @jlhammar @willaful Yes, it's among the many weird to downright offensive things that can crop up in books from this era. 4mo
batsy @Cathythoughts That's right! That was meant to further tempt you 😁 4mo
Cathythoughts @batsy You divil , you ! 😂 it worked. 4mo
batsy @Cathythoughts 😆 4mo
CarolynM Great review. I found myself feeling a very small amount of sympathy for Clara when the stuff about her curtailed education came out. There‘s no excuse for murder, of course, but it did give some explanation for the warping of her personality. 4mo
batsy @CarolynM Yes, well put. I did find her circumstances quite sad, as well. There seemed to be a lot going on at the social level (people having tough lives with no real help forthcoming) that made it feel all too contemporary. 4mo
Amiable This title makes my laugh every time I see it. Because it describes my feelings every Monday morning when I have to get up and go to work. 😄 4mo
batsy @Amiable Exactly! A very relatable title in a sense 🤣 4mo
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