Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Wonderful characters with strong relationships
Cons: Plot weak with even weaker climax
The Bottom Line:
A fresh idea
And likeable characters
Underserved by plot
This Series Debut was Snow Disappointing
I don’t tend to read the crafty cozies, mainly because the
crafts used as the theme don’t interest me. However, when Snow Way Out, the first in a new Snow
Globe Shop Mystery series crossed my radar, I jumped on it. Who
doesn’t enjoy snow globes? I was hoping this would be a fun new
series, but sadly it was disappointing.
Cami Brooks has taken on running her parent’s shop, Curio
Finds, while her mother undergoes treatment for cancer. It shares a
space with Brew Ha-Ha, a coffee shop run by Pinky Nelson, one of her best
friends. While quite different from her last job working for a
Senator in Washington DC, Cami is enjoying being home and reconnecting with her
friends and family.
In an attempt to boost business in the shop, Cami and Pinky
are jointly hosting a snow globe making class. Cami leaves work late
that night after class and is walking home when she finds a man sitting on a
bench in the park asleep. At least she thinks he is asleep until he
falls over, revealing the knife sticking out of his back. Cami
immediately recognizes the scene as identical to one she spotted in an
unfamiliar snow globe in her shop just before she left, but when she goes back
with the police, that snow globe is gone. What is going on?
Actually, there is a lot going on, but little of it is
because of Cami. While she decides to investigate, especially when
her friends start acting funny, she actually does very little active
investigation. Instead, the book is filled with lots of events, and
they do provide some entertainment, but it leaves the mystery very
underdeveloped. And don’t get me started
on one development with the police that would absolutely never happen.
Sadly, the climax isn’t much better. It’s
actually a little anti-climatic, and the explanation for some of the strange
things happening in the book doesn’t really satisfy.
This is a shame because I absolutely loved the
characters. Cami is surrounded by some very good friends, and I got
a feel for those friendships in their many scenes
together. Likewise, I enjoyed the scenes with her
parents. Yes, they could have used a bit more development, but I’d
be willing to spend more time getting to know them better in future books if
the plot of this one had been better.
There are instructions for making your own snow globe at the
end of the book. It’s pretty much a summary of what we learn in the
first chapter, but it is interesting and made me start thinking about the kind
of snow globe I’d enjoy making.
Sadly, the plot doesn’t serve the characters
well. Snow Way Out had
plenty of potential with great characters and a great premise, but the average
plot just drags everything down.
That's disappointing but not entirely surprising. I love the idea of a snow globe store but I've found that this can happen when the cozy is just a bit to cozy!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is too cozy, just an underdeveloped plot.
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