The Parlor PI's discussion
Muffin But Murder...Chapter 15- End
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The first book ended with the gang starting the treasure hunt and led us to believe that this would be a major feature in this next book. What a disappointment! You are right J -it was totally unnecessary. Overall I found it a bit boring and difficult to stay interested. Not a lot of sleuthing involved, the mystery itself seemed to only play a small part.
Initially I thought I would like to read the series but after reading this one, I think not!
The treasure hunt didn't seem to add to the story at all, it seemed to having nothing whatsoever to do with the murder. It could have been left out and no one would have been the wiser. I did, however, like that it was taking them from 1 type of tree to another although, unless you are an arborist, it would have been difficult for a layperson dealing with the botanical names of the trees.Again, the last few chapters progressed nicely and the ending was satisfactory. I probably won't jump to read the next one in the series but I will most probably read the first one since I think I already bought it.
I'm not sure about reading further in the series. Occassionally you come across one that is terrible but the rest of the series is good. I thought Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie was terrible yet she is my favourite author. If I had read this one first and judged her writing on it I would have missed out on some great books. I always think you have to read a few books before making your mind up. I have read the first book in The Vintage Kitchen series by Victoria Hamilton and I loved it. So I may try some of her other books.
Mod
Tina -Once you have all the characters straight, you can skip to the last few chapters without missing much. As we have pointed out, book drags in places but the in the last few chapters the action flies. Hope this helps.
Merry & company undertake an unsuccessful treasure hunt. (Someone please tell me why this episode was necessary!)
Juniper Jones shows up on Merry's doorstep and after providing some info about the party, runs off when Cranston enters. Her fear of him causes Merry to realize he is not her cousin and therefore she has clear title to the castle.
While driving home, Merry encounters an apparently injured Zoe who forces her to a warehouse where all is revealed...and Merry and Cranston's lives are in jeopardy. Later, at Shilo's wedding the spark between Merry and Virgil seems to ignite. I'm guessing that is the foundation for the next book in this series,
All in all I don't think this book lived up to its promise. As has been pointed out here, alot of it was confusing and there were sections in the book that just dragged. Also, IMO a lot of the writing was superfluous and had absolutely nothing to do with the story.