Member Reviews
Socialite Edie works with a doctor/coroner to solve a series of brutal killings of young woman from varied walks of life. Edie is a complex character - sometimes flighty, sometimes angry, sometimes showing welcome signs of maturity. Some of the relationships between characters could be better fleshed out, and the plot dragged in the middle section for me when bodies kept appearing but little progress was made in finding the killer. The setting of early 1920s Philadelphia is well-drawn and makes a change from so many mysteries set in that period in NYC or Chicago. A good debut, and I hope the author continues the series. Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC,
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. First off, I really didn't like Edie. She was selfish, naive, and her inner voice was so bitter. Her sister is marrying her ex-boyfriend, which really sucks, but also she stopped writing to him something like three years before after she was very sick and he was hurt in the first World War. Ultimately, its a very "everyone sucks here" situation, but because we are in Edie's mind, we get to watch her look at her sister and think "That should have been me." She does recognize that it makes her not a great person, but she doesn't actually change so much as the romance needs her to stop doing that.
A similar thing happens with Gilbert, who is still heavily grieving his wife who died several years before. He stops grieving so much when the romance decides he and Edie need to get closer together and then he's thinking about how soft Edie's skin would be or something similar.
I also wasn't super into the actual mystery either. I was able to figure out the killer really early and the actual investigation doesn't really get going until close to half the book in. The characters also make some stupid decisions to make the plot push forward. The ultimate decision reason for the murders also felt a little odd in relation to how gruesome the murders actually were.
This book is a mystery book about this woman Edie and then to find out the mystery of this woman that died the guys sister , it was a good mystery book to find out who it was an it was someone you find out towards the end, great book i give it like 3 stars.
When I read the book description for A Deadly Endeavor I was sold by the comparison to Deanna Raybourne. After completing the novel, I agree, though I do lean a bit more toward a comparison to Kate Belli's Gilded Gotham series, which I also like and which may more closely align to a USA historical setting with any mention of mobsters.
I really liked the book, and would definitely read more in this series. Edie is growing from a rich debutante with less social awareness to a formidable feminine force. As a migraine sufferer, I also identify with Edie. Gil really reminds me of Gereon from Babylon Berlin, with the shellshock and the morphine - and I like seeing him as a strong family man willing to dive into anything to solve the murders. Adams didn't force a slow burn romance between the two, she lit it fairly quick, but there is still a lot of space for them to form a more serious attachment.
Things that could be strengthened:
- People describe Edie as a butterfly with no focus, but when we meet her she has been in California for three years and seemsmore seriously concerned with her health - It was hard for me to match the two different characterizations consistently. The same goes for Edie's feelings toward Frances and Theo - I could never tell if she was resigned/jealous/angry/content with that situation.
- I figured out the murderer very early on - some additional context or actions or juxtapositions could help make that a bit less transparent.
The overall structure, pacing and setting were described and written well. The overall mystery itself was a bit weak, and really grew to something large and explosive near the end, which did not entirely match my expectations of the characters' limits and actions - but I read cozy mysteries because they're fun, not for seriousness.
This is a great debut and I can't wait for the sequel. Big thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.