Scan barcode
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
I'm surprised by the lukewarm reviews - Cassandra, to me, was very much in the mold of polarizing literary sleuth, no more obnoxious than say Inspector Morse (book version, not TV), and the plot felt no more over-the-top than other mysteries from the 90s (and in some ways significantly less, since I'm more than willing to believe in complicated, obnoxious people , in contrast to say over-the-top serial killer plots which rely on omnicompetent, unremorsefully evil menaces to society roaming the back alleys). I really enjoyed it.
Spoiler
being bad at co-parenting and romantic relationshipslibraryofcalliope's review
3.0
Cassandra Reilly works as a translator to fund her adventures travelling all over the world. When the mysterious Frankie employs her help in assisting her to track down her ex husband in Barcelona, things get somewhat out of hand. This book introduces the amateur detective and embroils her in the plot of custody battles, kidnappings, cross dressing and questions around who can be a mother. I’m definitely interested to read more of this lesbian detective but there were some definite flaws with this book. The plot was so dedicated to high stakes and twists that the author tended to use the same conventions again and again and again and it didn’t really add anything by repeating them. This book also features two trans characters as well as men who just enjoy wearing dresses and the narrative makes a clear distinction between the two but it was written in the 90s so some of the language and understanding was definitely outdated. Overall it was an interesting book, especially as a mystery novel without any murders. It was more about the characters’ relationships with each other and that was definitely it’s strong point.
northerly_heart_reads's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
bridget_r's review against another edition
2.0
The story had it's real ups and downs, unfortunately.
More...