That Feeling When A Book Doesn’t Hit

It doesn’t matter if it’s a book, movie or meal it is so disappointing when something doesn’t live up to the hype or your expectations, worse still when you give it the chance to grow the beard and still end up disappointed. This is what happened when I decided to read the cozy murder mystery The Bingo Hall Detectives by Jonathan Whitelaw.

SYNOPSIS | THE BINGO HALL DETECTIVES

Jason Brazel is an out of work journalist who lives in Penrith with his family and mother-in-law, Amita. She knows everyone and everything that’s going on in this corner of the Lakes.

So when it’s discovered that Madeline Frobisher, one of Amita’s fellow regulars at the bingo club has died, found by the postman outside her crumbling country home close to Ullswater Lake, she senses immediately this is no accident. The trouble is, no one else seems to take her suspicions seriously.

That is, until she enlists the help of her friends at the Penrith Bingo Club. Dismissed by many as eccentric, over the hill or out of touch, it turns out that it’s unlucky for some that these amateur sleuths are on the case…

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It sounded right up my alley; senior fiction and murder mystery wrapped up into one novel. I made the mistake of looking up reviews right before I started reading. Although varied, I found patterns in what some readers didn’t like about the book and I almost reconsidered starting it. While the story and plot kept me interested, I wasn’t engaged.

I agree with the readers and reviewers who didn’t like Amita, Jason and/or their relationship. They aren’t unlikeable but more like an acquired taste. As the reader approaches the reveal they can’t help but root for them. This is because as the book progresses the relationship between Amita and her son-in-law Jason transitions from a petty tolerance to an actual friendship, and the perception of them also changes for the reader. While I wouldn’t say I acquired a taste for them, I was willing to enter their world again as I read The Village Hall Vendetta, the next installment in the series.

SYNOPSIS | THE VILLAGE HALL VENDETTA

Hal Mulberry has long dreamt of owning the iconic painting, Buttermere at Dawn. And now the entrepreneur has got his hands on it, he’s determined to bring it back to the Lakes where it belongs and put it on show, turning Penrith Village Hall into a cultural hotspot – with the painting at its heart.

Journalist Jason Brazel is delighted to get the exclusive. Even if his mother in law, Amita, thinks he’s making a fuss about an ugly piece of modern art. But when Amita uncovers a theory that the painting is cursed, she wonders just what Hal is bringing to their door: hex, hoax or dirty-deal?

While the great and the good gather for the unveiling, someone’s got murder on their mind. And it’s up to Jason and Amita to find who is trying to put people out of the picture … permanently.

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In this novel the pacing is good and the dynamic between Amita and Jason is more enjoyable. The other characters are lovable, and the reveals are surprising (in a “hmm interesting choice” not “I didn’t see that coming”) and interesting. But I wasn’t able to lose myself in this book. Even though I didn’t love them, I’m glad I gave both books in the series a try. It’s easy to judge a book by the cover but, you never know if you’ll like it until you give it a read. Check out this post for murder mystery novels guaranteed to immerse you in the story and keep you hooked to the last page.