The Zig Zag Girl (The Brighton Mysteries, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jun 17, 2022 Keli rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: defo-not-my-cup-o-tea, i-dont-get-their-popularity, i-wanted-to-like-it-more, 2-5-rounded-down, ru2022, tt9

Synopsis- Brighton, 1950.

When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.

The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men.

Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is relu Synopsis- Brighton, 1950.

When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.

The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men.

Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind.

Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another ‘trick’, the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in danger…

Review- I had to wait ages for this to be available through my library. There were about a dozen people in line before me. Once I finally got it, I let the time run out before finishing. In fact, I was only about 18% through before my 14 days were up. Part of that is down to challenges. Z is not an easy letter to read for, so I figured I could stop now and re-read the first bit should a need for Z arise. It never did. Which is just as well because the silly thing has only just become available again, it's been a few weeks. Anyway, I listened to it and though the narrator did a good job, the story was dull. It moved at a glacial speed, even though several murders happened. I think it was down to the MC. He was a monotonous monotone man in a beige suit, standing shoulders deep in tepid water, with only a dish rag to dry himself. He was the very essence of dull. Plus, he was kind of clueless even though he's a detective inspector. When he wasn't ineffectually looking for a rather obvious serial killer, he was moaning about the lost love of his life. She's dead, which is sad but he is insipid with his constant whining. However there was this one passage where he described kissing this love of his life for the first time and it was the quintessential 1940s movie kiss. A surprised mashing of lips. Which led me to think of this variation of a Princes's lyrics - He wasn't too bright but I could tell when he kissed, he he had no clue how to get his kicks. This was probably my favourite part of the book.
I realised who the killer was early on, which took any of the excitement it might have had out of it. And, I didn't get on with the writing. I'm sorry Elly Griffiths but you need to alter up the nouns you use, even if they are proper. It felt like you used the term WAAF a hundred times.
Overall, it lacked pacing, excitement or intrigue, and was repetitive.

Rating - Two milquetoast stars. ⭐⭐

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel ...more

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Oct 29, 2017 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

I read this solely because it was a Z title and I needed a Z title for a challenge - not to mention a G author and a B location! - but I'm happy I stumbled across it. I have not read any of the highly touted Ruth Galloway series so I can only base my review on this first book in her new series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to say that a large part of the enjoyment is all about James Langton, the reader of the audio version I "read." He is fabulous. The book is engrossing and amusing. The p ...more

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