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Saturday, March 22, 2008

The Book of Old Houses

Graves, Sarah. The Book of Old Houses. Another library book, but not a successful one. The 11th book in this series about Jacobia Tiptree, it is the first one that I've read.

An old book (evidence of the supernatural?), a murdered rare book expert, a friend looking for revenge, an old house in the midst of renovation...all sounds intriguing. However, a narrative unable to focus seems the result. An awful lot of time is devoted to the destruction and remodeling of an old bathroom and the amusing(?) results. Misdirection throughout, but a sense of logic and cohesion seems lacking, and motive seems questionable.


Fiction. Mystery. 2008. 294 pages.

5 comments:

  1. Boo. Sounds boring. I'll steer clear.

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  2. I am sorry this one didn't turn out well. I've heard mostly good things about this particular author, although this is the first I've heard of this book.

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  3. raych - I was disappointed in this one. Oh, well!

    LF - I'd never heard of her before, but the premise sounded interesting so I checked it out. Maybe this one just doesn't live up to her previous novels. That does happen sometimes...

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  4. Ah what a bummer and especially with a premise like that - old book, murdered rare book expert. I wonder if earlier books are any better? This is a cozy right?

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  5. Iliana - Very possibly, the others are better. It is described as a cozy, but just felt light.

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