This is my second book by this duo (Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper, illustrator), and I'm so ready for a third one! I saved this for a day when I could read it from cover to cover without any distractions. After their first book, I knew I wasn't going to want to put it down or be bothered. I'm so glad that I waited until I was in the mood for something ridiculous because this book goes hard in making fun of the classic murder mystery tropes.
Maureen Johnson has a hilarious writing style that is campy, fun, and keeps you glued to the pages. Combine that with Jay Copper's illustrations, pencil sketches in black and white with a pop of red color. It all really works. It gives you extra information besides what you're taking in through Johnson's writing. So it's almost, and that is kind of the point, to the point of too much information. Halfway through, I realized I'd focused too much on one aspect, and I missed another thing.
It was so easy to form suspects and theories on the crime throughout the whole book. I was kind of hoping maybe it was going to be a disembodied hand doing all the murders. Then, of course, I had another wild theory that I was kind of disappointed that it was wrong. Then I had another theory that was less fun, but maybe more correct. I was so busy focused on the other people and the letters that I missed what was right in front of my face.
While I had some of the puzzle sorted out by the end of the book, I still hadn't figured out who did it. Because my favorite theory was about to happen. I could just tell it was going to an ending that made sense and tied it all up quite nicely. It was honestly perfect. Because I was so busy over here suspecting all the usual suspects, I wasn't looking at the picture as a whole. The red herrings were so perfect.
This was just a lot of fun! If you want a low-risk, high-reward read that has you laughing out loud, you should check this out. Or, there is another book, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village. Both are hilarious and so much fun! This has become an instant buy duo of authors. I so hope they work on another book!
HAPPY READING!!
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