Friday, December 27, 2013

Book 124: Mr. Churchill's Secretary

 
I like mysteries but I haven't read anything that fits into the cozies category, which from what I gather are supposed to be more like the vintage mysteries of the past, and focus less on sensational crimes, and more on small communities.  Given the cover, I thought this novel fell more into that type of category and decided to try it out.  After all, I like the occasional fun and light story.
 
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this story at all.  The author really needs to work on segues because her characters seemed to completely change from one sentence to the next - for example, in one scene they'd be doing something and in a good mood, and then suddenly they would be all pissy for no discernable reason.  While we are constantly told how smart and brilliant the main character is, I can't say I was really convinced of her specialness, and their discussions about World War II seemed exactly like discussions someone in the 21st century someone would imagine people in the past having.  Given that they don't have the hindsight of a person of the 21st century, I doubt they were constantly getting on soap boxes and discussing politics with grandiose statements.
 
Also, the plot is just way to out there, leading to secret government organizations and espionage while Maggie, the American/British main character, just shows up in all these places.  I didn't care about her, and it all felt very superficial.  I do not recommend this one.

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