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rosemwood's review against another edition
4.0
A typical cozy psychic mystery. This is book #5 but this series can be read as stand alone. It has some twist but the who done it isn't hard to figure out. This is the second book I have read from this author and I enjoy her work. I love the character development and I absolutely love that it takes place in Salem, Massachusetts.
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Grave Errors by Carol J. Perry is the fifth story in A Witch City Mystery series. Lee Barrett is teaching a television production class at Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts that is focusing on interview skills and investigative reporting. The annual class assignment is to produce a video involving some aspect of Salem’s history and the students have decided to highlight Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Dorothy Alden, one of Lee’s students, is taking the class for personal reasons. Dorothy’s sister, Emily passed away recently from an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. Dorothy believes her sister was murdered and is looking for proof. She hopes the class will give her the skills she needs. Lee wants to help Dorothy and is quickly drawn into the investigation. With the aid of her visions, O’Ryan (her cat) and her detective boyfriend, Lee sets out to get answers and closure for Dorothy.
Grave Errors is the fifth installment in A Witch City Mystery series and it can be read as a stand-alone novel. We are given a background history on Lee along a synopsis of her previous cases. The writing style made the book easy to read, but the pace was a little slow. There to be too many mundane details. I do not need to know every single meal Lee eats (each food item), when she changes clothes (and what she is wearing), going up steps, etc. My rating for Grave Errors is 3.5 out of 5 stars. There is a nice mixture of characters, and I really appreciate that the author does not throw them at the reader all at once. The mystery had some good elements. I thought the method of murder was very unique. The culprit, though, can be identified long before the reveal. I wish the author had put more effort into the mystery and spent less time on Lee’s love life. I delighted in the supernatural elements and wish they had been played up more. Lee has a wonderful gift and, after five books, she has yet to fully embrace (or accept) it. The setting of Salem, Massachusetts is delightful (I would love to live in Salem). I welcomed the history of the city that the author included (especially pertaining to Giles Corey).
Grave Errors is the fifth installment in A Witch City Mystery series and it can be read as a stand-alone novel. We are given a background history on Lee along a synopsis of her previous cases. The writing style made the book easy to read, but the pace was a little slow. There to be too many mundane details. I do not need to know every single meal Lee eats (each food item), when she changes clothes (and what she is wearing), going up steps, etc. My rating for Grave Errors is 3.5 out of 5 stars. There is a nice mixture of characters, and I really appreciate that the author does not throw them at the reader all at once. The mystery had some good elements. I thought the method of murder was very unique. The culprit, though, can be identified long before the reveal. I wish the author had put more effort into the mystery and spent less time on Lee’s love life. I delighted in the supernatural elements and wish they had been played up more. Lee has a wonderful gift and, after five books, she has yet to fully embrace (or accept) it. The setting of Salem, Massachusetts is delightful (I would love to live in Salem). I welcomed the history of the city that the author included (especially pertaining to Giles Corey).
hannahrae113's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
That's it I am done with this series I just can't take it anymore. The series gets worse as it goes on not better.
If the so called editor of this book is indeed a real person and not just someone made up to say this was edited they need to be fired immediately, give back whatever they earned fornot editing this bit of drivel and go back to school. Serious continuity errors and simple mixups everywhere not to mention about 15 pages of unnecessary fluff detail that's pure filler and a few pages off of repetitiveness. This actually would have been a short story if it were properly edited.
Lee the MC is a 10 year old in a 30 year olds body. She is afraid of everything, has no common sense/self-preservation, is a terrible gossip, has no guilt about putting those around her in danger and somehow is never arrested for all the meddling into police affairs. (Yes I know this is a cozy mystery but this is beyond belief and logic. She is a teacher of something she never did in real life, doesn't have a degree to teach at a school that couldn't possibly give degrees (how they are a school amazes me) to anyone.
All the surrounding characters are cliches and have zero depth and no growth (neither does the MC for that matter). They are all children in adult bodies. Seriously this book reads like it was originally supposed to be for middle grade readers but is marketed for adults.
If the so called editor of this book is indeed a real person and not just someone made up to say this was edited they need to be fired immediately, give back whatever they earned for
Lee the MC is a 10 year old in a 30 year olds body. She is afraid of everything, has no common sense/self-preservation, is a terrible gossip, has no guilt about putting those around her in danger and somehow is never arrested for all the meddling into police affairs. (Yes I know this is a cozy mystery but this is beyond belief and logic. She is a teacher of something she never did in real life, doesn't have a degree to teach at a school that couldn't possibly give degrees (how they are a school amazes me) to anyone.
All the surrounding characters are cliches and have zero depth and no growth (neither does the MC for that matter). They are all children in adult bodies. Seriously this book reads like it was originally supposed to be for middle grade readers but is marketed for adults.
bplayfuli's review against another edition
3.0
Cute cozy mystery series although some of the actions are nonsensical. The ending of this one had some really illogical villain behavior but I guess you can't expect solid reasoning from a crazy person.
dnemec's review against another edition
3.0
Grave Errors is the 5th installment of the Witch City Mystery series. I chose this book solely because I love Salem, Mass. - it's one of my favorite places! Anyway, I liked the beginning of the story. The author laid out the characters in such a way that it wasn't overwhelming. The story was entertaining, although without having read the previous stories, I can't figure out why a school for adult students runs rather like a high school - full days of class with lunch breaks at noon - rather than the 50-110 minute classes I took in college. The mystery was pretty good, although I was pretty certain of the killer. Overall, the story was entertaining. I'd certainly read more of the series.
jena_33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
natalieshinobu's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
abauer_13's review against another edition
3.75
Figured out the killer pretty quick but it was a good read as always