Reviews

Ughhh, I do not like Tommy for Viviana, I wish she would stay single, it’s much more interesting that way. I’m very confused as to why the accountant didn’t just go straight to the police, that storyline didn’t make much sense

brewsandbooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

almond_cheese's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Viviana Valentine and the Ticking Clock is the third book in this Girl Friday series. Opening on NYE, Viv and her now-fiancé Tommy witness a murder in an alley but are unable to catch the murderer when he gives chase. They run a parallel investigation to the official police investigation, trying to suss out the murderer. Plus they have three other cases at the P.I. office - a potentially cheating wife who they need to tail, a man being extorted by a coding criminal, and a missing banker. Can they solve all of the mysteries and keep their relationship on track?

This is a quick lighthearted novel, satisfying as usual. I like the characters and the slang from the ‘50s cracks me up! I like that a more personal side of Viv is shown, as we are more deeply into her relationship with Tommy. The cases involved lots of fun witnesses and interviews, and of course there is always drama at the boarding house!

anns_book_chronicles's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-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

4.0

smtriska's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

flyinglark's review

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

New year, new clients who need the expertise of Viviana Valentine and Tommy Fortuna, private investigators. They find themselves entrusted with four tasks:

Find out who stabbed the stranger near Times Square
Decode blackmail on behalf of a man
Tailing an old friend's fiancée
Locate a missing investment banker who vanished

The mysteries were okay and their conclusions were wrapped up nicely in the last 10% of the book. The part of the book I enjoyed the most was the characters themselves.

The supporting cast also blazed with their assistance to the cases, from the secretary to the landlady and her son to the rest of the girls at the boarding house and those encountered during the cases. They reflect the diverse population in NYC in 1951. You can see how historical events near the time affect the characters' choices and personalities. I kind of want to research more into 1950s NYC.

There is also a focus on the relationship between Viviana and Tommy. As the honeymoon period of a newly engaged couple starts to fade, Viviana needs to grapple with the fact she may not know Tommy as much as she thought she did in the ten years of working together. After all, they skipped dating completely. There were assumptions made between the two, but they do begin to communicate in the second half of the book.

I'm not sure if there are any more books in A Girl Friday Mystery series as of this review, but if there are any, I will pick up the next one, especially with the amazing narration from Stephanie Willing.

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