Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (5000)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2373 KP) rated The Study of Secrets in Books

May 27, 2020  
The Study of Secrets
The Study of Secrets
Cynthia Kuhn | 2020 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sabbatical with Murder
Lila Maclean has been taking a fall semester sabbatical, staying with family friend Bibi Callahan while finishing up her book on mystery author Isabella Dare. She’s become friends with the people in Bibi’s life, so she is delighted to join them one night for a book discussion of the first Isabella Dare mystery. The night, which starts as fun and laughs, ends in tragedy when one of the women is murdered. Bibi asks Lila to figure out what is going on, but the present seems to be fed by secrets from the past. Which one of them lead to murder?

After the way the previous book in the series ended, I couldn’t wait to dive in and see what would happen next. I was well rewarded. The mystery starts quickly and is strong with some twists I didn’t expect and a logical climax. The timeline was a bit squishy, but it didn’t impact the story itself – this is just a personal pet peeve. The characters are strong, making us care about the story and the outcome. A sub-plot involving Lila’s personal life felt a bit rushed, but I still liked how it ended. This book is set during the Christmas season, and those elements added a fun, festive nature to the story. The charming characters and engrossing plot made the pages fly by all too quickly.