Althea M. (althea) reviewed The Charming Quirks of Others (Isabelle Dalhousie, Bk 7) on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting. This was the first book I've read in this mystery series (it's the seventh). I really enjoyed the writing style - the protagonist is a philosophical ethicist, and the main point of the book is really to allow her to muse on whatever topic happens to cross her mind. Occasionally she comes across as a bit overly saintly, but overall her thoughts are both witty and enjoyable, and make for an unusually convincing representation of an extremely smart character. (Too often, in fiction, a reader is merely told that a character is very intelligent, but they don't do anything to prove it.)
That said, the plot is very thin. The pretext for the protagonist to be doing the investigation is rather flimsy, and the investigation itself isn't that exciting (a background check on a number of candidates for a school administrator's position). A subplot about the worry that her fiancee might be cheating on her wasn't of that much interest, either, and was a little unconvincing... maybe it would have made more sense if I'd read the previous books, but she seemed to be acting like a much more inexperienced woman than a fifty-ish divorcee.
I'll read more of this series if I come across them, but won't go out of my way to hunt them down.
That said, the plot is very thin. The pretext for the protagonist to be doing the investigation is rather flimsy, and the investigation itself isn't that exciting (a background check on a number of candidates for a school administrator's position). A subplot about the worry that her fiancee might be cheating on her wasn't of that much interest, either, and was a little unconvincing... maybe it would have made more sense if I'd read the previous books, but she seemed to be acting like a much more inexperienced woman than a fifty-ish divorcee.
I'll read more of this series if I come across them, but won't go out of my way to hunt them down.
