DNF at 55%

For a murder mystery, the key detective character - not the main character - is so deliberately obtuse as to be unbelievable. The main character, with no detective experience or demonstrable detective skills is “out-investigating” the key detective. All this, while the main police contact allows both characters to run around looking at crime scenes and doing their own thing.

While Victorian era investigative techniques may have been different than modern day, the leaps required to accept this book’s flaws are too big to be comfortable. ( )

Walks a border between annoying and funny, but won me over to the funny side. ( )

Best described as a black comedy, the novel deals with a series of grisly murders and a seemingly unsolvable crime, but the most criminal thing about the story is the unrepentant and awful personality of Grice — a detective far more cutting than Sherlock and darkly comic because of it. The type of blunt and terrible temperament one cannot help but laugh at and cringe while doing so. I loved to loathe him, though loathe is too strong a word. The tale’s told through the viewpoint of his ward, March Middleton, and it is as much about her having to put up with Grice as her strength and determination that makes this book amusing. And like any good detective story, there’s a meandering puzzle that only the warped mind of Grice could easily work out. I’ll be reading more of these. ( )

SWEDISH REVIEW

Morden på Mangle Street är en småtrevlig historisk deckare som utan tvekan kommer att uppskattas av läsare av t.ex. Flavia de Luce series av Alan Bradley. Sidney Grice känns som en parodi eller en mycket mer humorist version av Sherlock Holmes, och att en viss person dök upp i slutet av boken var småroande och passande. Personligen hade jag lite svårt för Sidney Grice, men March Middleton, hans skyddsling och "assistent" samt kommissarie Pound gjorde boken helt klart gjorde boken läsvärd.

Själva berättelsen är OK, jag måste erkänna att jag inte föll lika mycket för boken som jag hade hoppas på. Troligtvis för att jag egentligen föredrar mer allvar än komedi när det gäller deckare samt att skämten, all tedrickandet osv var kul i början, men efter ett tag en aning påfrestande. Men ändå måste jag säga att boken var läsvärd trots mina problem med humorn och Sidney Grice. Den känns som en perfekt bok när man vill ha något mindre allvarligt och tungt. Helt enkelt en trevlig "Cozy Mystery" bok. Fallet med den mördade kvinnan var intressant, även om jag inte blev överraskad av hur det hela låg till när sanningen kom fram på slutet.

Morden på Mangle Street uppfyllde inte alla mina förväntningar men den var trevlig att läsa och jag ser fram emot att läsa fortsättningen.

Jag vill tacka Lind & Co. för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

The Mangle Street Murders is a nice cozy historical mystery that I think will appeal to readers of Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. Sidney Grice feels like a parody or a lot more humorous version of Sherlock Holmes, and that a certain person appeared at the end of the book was both fun and appropriate. I did have a hard time warming up for Sidney Grice, but March Middleton, his protege and "assistant" and Inspector Pound made the book worth reading.

The story is OK, I must admit that I did not enjoy the book as much as I had been hoping I would. Probably because I prefer more serious crime novels than cozy murder mysteries and the jokes, all the tea drinking, etc. was fun at first, but after a while a little too much. But still, I must say that the book was worth reading, despite my problems with the humor and Sidney Grice. It feels like a perfect book when you want something less serious and heavy. The case of the murdered woman was interesting, although I was not surprised by the ending when everything was released.

The Mangle Street Murders did not satisfy all of my expectations, but it was nice to read, and I look forward to reading more books in the series!

I want to thank Lind & Co. för the review copy! ( )

This was really enjoyable, thrilling and funny, right up until the ending, which I felt was rather anticlimactic.
I would certainly consider reading more in the series though as the characters are a lot of fun. ( )