Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Wonderful characters
Cons: Characters overshadow mystery
The Bottom Line:
A strangers with a
Typewriter obsession drives
Average debut
Who Killed the Stranger?
Among the authors I’ve been meaning to try is Paige
Shelton. And, as I like to do, I decided
that a new series was the perfect place to try her books, which is why I picked
up To Helvetica and Back. Sadly, the book wasn’t the ringing
endorsement of this author I was expecting.
After years following her grandfather, Chester, around his
shop, The Rescued Word, Clare Henry fell into joining him. Together, the duo repair old typewriters and
old books as well as sell pens and stationary.
Because of the diversified nature of their business, they manage to do
well as the times change, and they’ve carved out a place in the touristy town
of Star City, Utah.
One of their most loyal customers is Mirabelle, who happens
to be Chester’s friend. She’s just
brought in her old typewriter to be repaired, but she’s quickly followed by a
stranger who demands to buy that typewriter.
Not a similar one, but Mirabelle’s exact typewriter. He only leaves when Clare calls the
police. The next morning, Clare and
Chester find the stranger dead behind their shop. Why did he want the typewriter? Did that lead to his murder?
The characters in this book are wonderful. Clare has lived in Star City all her life,
and she has some good friends in the area.
Those relationships make the book much richer. Additionally, the book doesn’t fall into the
character cliches of many of the series I read, which was refreshing. These are already real people, and I loved
spending time with them. We get several
sub-plots related to the characters, which really helps us get to know them.
Unfortunately, those sub-plots overwhelm the main
mystery. Don’t get me wrong, there is
always something going on, and I was gleefully turning the pages to find out
what would happen next. However, as I
neared the end, I realized that the main mystery had suffered under all the
stuff with the characters. This was
confirmed as we reached the climax, which was very very rushed.
If this were a later book in the series, I probably wouldn’t
mind the weak mystery since I would love spending time with the
characters. However, as an introduction
to the author, I found To Helvetica and Back weak. It was still an enjoyable
read, but I wish the mystery had been stronger.
NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in hopes I would review
it.
That's too bad this was such a weak mystery. I've read a few boosk by the author and enjoyed them though I wouldn't say she's my favorite. I remember when this was published and there was another book by her that was another new series that got published right at the same time and I remember thinking that it seemed weird. Maybe she felt too much pressure to get both books written and the plot ended up suffering? If I remember correctly she does tend to go a bit subplot heavy but I don't remember the mystery being quite this week in the others. You might want to try the first in her cooking school series. There were some flaws but I remember enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteI figure she must have some great series out there because she has so many fans.
DeleteThe two series that started about the same time were from different publishers. Who knows why they came out so close to each other, but I doubt she had any control over it.
Maybe with such good character build up, the next book will dig a little deeper onto the mystery side of things.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, although usually it's the opposite, mystery is king early on in a series, and then characters edge out the mystery later (if it happens at all).
Delete