Katie Siegel

Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective by Katie Siegal
New Adult mystery, cozy mystery. Diverse characters.
Charlotte Illes was a childhood sleuth and minor celebrity. She gave up the practice of investigating in high school, planning for new adventures. Now at twenty five and not yet finding the right career or even job, Charlotte is feeling a little desperate and yes, just a smidge depressed. Fortunately she has friends that won’t just let her sit back and wallow. Charlotte has a mystery to solve and to prove that she still has the skills.

Charlotte has some really supportive friends and family that went above and beyond to help her, even though she had distanced herself from them. The story is cute but reads more as YA to me with attitudes and repetitive details. There are diverse character traits included as if it’s a list to fill. I found more interest in the secondary characters. Charlotte proves she has an eye for detail. The friends prove they shouldn’t be forgotten.
🎧 I alternated between a paperback and an audiobook copy which is performed by the author. The recording is professionally done and includes some emotional pitch but reinforces the YA feeling.

I received a copy of this from the publisher.… (altro)

Charlotte was a whiz kid when it came to detecting. She was a minor sensation as a kid, but stopped solving mysteries in high school. Now in her mid-twenties, she is called back into that old game of figuring out whodunit. Only now, the stakes are higher. Instead of finding out who snitched the crayons, she is dealing with missing people and dead bodies. Caught up in a union fight, she clearly has to up her game. The mystery in this tale isn’t the best, but it’s not bad. My main criticism is that this book reads like a teen novel, and for younger teens. (But please tidy up some of the language!) Though these characters are twenty-somethings, they act and talk like middle schoolers! The dialogue could use some tightening up, and the whole book would benefit from better editing. Perhaps the next book will be more tightly written, without extraneous bits. The idea of a former child detective who returns to doing what she likes best is a good one, and this author seems capable of turning out a better second mystery in the series.… (altro)