Title: The Murderous Affair at Stone Manor
Author: Laura Stewart
Series: Amelia Adams #1
charismatic characters but confused genre
It was with great joy that I saw this book has a sequel. Then it was with great sorrow that I realized the sequel is not available in audiobook format, minimizing the likelihood of my reading it, especially this time of year.
I enjoyed this book very much. I suspect the characters are what will either pull readers in or drive them away. If off the bat you think Amelia’s TSTL, Gideon’s intolerable, and Jack—if you make it as far as Jack—is a Jackass (ha), you won’t like the book. But if you find Amelia flawed, sympathetic, and relatable; Gideon unhappy, vulnerable, and prime for redemption; and Jack endearing despite his shell of irreverent humor, then you’ll enjoy spending time with them. I fell somewhere between those camps, but I was having too much fun to judge too harshly.
The biggest problem is the unfocused plot and confused genre. It starts out like a cliche Sophie Kinsella chick lit, then it’s enveloped by the documentary and Amelia dealing with the house, Gideon, the production crew, and Jack. The mystery is just a subplot, and not a very strong one, considering Amelia just follows Dot’s clues instead of investigating for herself, and finds the treasure by happenstance. The narrative also lost relevancy here and there—for example, we did not need Sally’s little emotional arc, she was too peripheral, and that under-the-bed scene was infuriating. (Dear Any Woman Who Lets Herself Be Treated Like That: You deserve better, find your self-respect. Love, Danielle).
Thinking on it, I dare to liken this book to another title I read recently, Murder at an Irish Castle by Ellie Brannigan. Though marketed as a mystery, it was far more women’s fiction with a mystery subplot. This book was more interesting and not nearly as poorly written, but it was similar in that the mystery wasn’t as central as it should have been, at least in a novel that purported to be a mystery, with more focus on Amelia’s—and Gideon’s, really—problems, as well as the documentary. To my recollection, there was only one murder and it happened to someone we didn’t know and was way off screen. I think it was only mentioned, like, once.
Aside from that, the mustache-twirling villain was rather one-dimensional, but that’s a common problem and not something I condemn too harshly. Writing a great villain is hard.
Lastly—what the heck was that documentary supposed to be about? It wasn’t at all clear. Was it meant to be about Gideon? Was it supposed to be about renovating the house? Or something to do with Dot’s mystery? Perhaps life in rural Scotland? It seemed to cover all those areas, and all I can think is that it had to be an absolute mess. The way they were filming it seemed way more like a reality show rather than a documentary.
Overall, this book is a fast-paced, fun romp with charismatic characters. It just wasn’t completely sure which or what kind of story it wanted most to tell.
