Book Review: Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire (Christie Bookshop Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Characters, setting, and plot all had moments to shine

Cons: Characters, setting, and plot all had moments when they were weak

The Bottom Line:

Intriguing premise

Parts worked, but parts uneven

For a mixed debut

Dead Stranger in a Gondola

When I heard the set up for Dead and Gondola, I couldn't resist.  From the setting to the mystery, it sounded like something I would enjoy.  Sadly, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be.

This book takes us to a resort town in Colorado and introduces us to the Christie sisters, Ellie and Meg.  They aren’t related to the famous mystery author, but they have taken over running the family bookstore.  While the story carries all genres in an effort to appeal to vacationers, they do specialize in mysteries.

And then a real life mystery lands in the store.  A mysterious stranger comes into the store one day and hangs around for several hours before abruptly walking out, leaving behind a rare book.  The next time Ellie and Meg spot him, they are about to take the gondola that connects the upper and lower parts of town at the end of the day.  The stranger is in the car in front of them by himself.  And he's dead when he reaches the ground.  How did he die?  Who was he?  And who wanted him dead?

I often talk about the balance between set up and moving the story forward, especially in the first book in a series.  Unfortunately, this book could have used a bit more set up.  Or at least done a better job of setting up the characters and the surroundings of the story.  I struggled a bit to really feel like I was really at home in the story when I started this book.

This did get better as things went along, fortunately.  Ellie and Meg and the rest of the main characters are all wonderful, and I did come to care for them.  Since this is the first in the series, the line was a bit blurred between suspects and regular characters, and that’s a good thing.  They were just as strong.  The setting turned out to be as wonderful as I expected it to be.  I could get lost in the bookstore for a long time if it were real, and the rest of the town was charming.

The plot started out strongly with the stranger arriving at the bookstore and making some waves.  It isn't long before he dies, and something else happens that also intrigued me.  However, the pacing was uneven overall.  Something would happen, and the characters would react.  But then we'd get lots of speculation before something new happened again.  Having said that, the ending did make sense.

I wanted to like Dead and Gondola more than I did.  It wasn't a truly bad book, but it also could have been stronger.  If the premise appeals to you, give it a try.  It might work for you when it didn't for me.