Euskaraz & in English (below).

More cozy mysteries gehiago.

Maddie Penrose bere amona Norrekin bizitzera doa, Cornwalleko baserrira. Norrek laguntza behar du bere te-dendan eta Maddiek atseden pixka bat. Baina dena aldatzen da euren auzokidea te-dendara sartzen denean, gertu gorpu bat aurkitu duela esanez.

Maddie Penrose goes to live with grandma Nor on her Cornish farm. Nor needs help at her teashop, and Maddie needs a break. But everything changes when a neighbour rushes in shouting that he has found a body nearby.

(euskaraz)

Denbora pixka bat behar izan dut iritzi hau idazteko. Izan ere, ez zait gustatzen istorioei buruzko iritzi negatiboak ematea, argitalpen baten atzean jende askok egiten duen lan guztiagatik errespetu handia dudalako.

Hala ere, harrituta geratu naiz sareetan hainbeste iritzi positibo —edo hobeto esanda, gehiegi saltzera bideratutako iritzi— ikustearekin. Askotan, liburu bat benetan hain ona izan ez arren ere irakurri edo erostera bultzatzen dute jendea. Niri, behintzat, ez zait oso zintzoa iruditzen, eta normalean kontu horiek jarraitzeari uzteko gogoa ematen dit.

Horregatik, nire iritziak beste ikuspegi batetik planteatzen hasi nahi dut: gehiago hitz egin idazkeraz, estiloaz eta kontakizunen eraikuntzaz, liburuen alde komertzialaz baino. Azken finean, horretan badago jende asko, publiko handiagoarekin eta askoz ere diskurtso erakargarriagoekin.

Idaztea gustatzen zait, eta irakurketaren alderdi horrekin berriz konektatu nahiko nuke. Irakurtzen dudanari buruz gehiago hausnartzen eta ikasten laguntzen dit.

Beraz, istorio bat zergatik ez zaidan gustatu azaltzen saiatu beharrean, nahiago dut niretzat zergatik ez duen funtzionatu kontatzea, bai irakurle gisa bai idazle izan nahi duen norbaiten ikuspegitik.

Kasu honetan, liburu hau duela nahiko irakurri nuen, eta xehetasun gutxi gogoratzen ditut; batez ere sentsazio batzuk eta argumentu orokorra. Beraz, modu sinplean hasiko naiz.

Maddie Penrose bere amona Norrekin bizitzera doa, Cornwalleko baserrira. Norrek laguntza behar du bere te-dendan eta Maddiek atseden pixka bat. Baina dena aldatzen da euren auzokidea te-dendara sartzen denean, gertu gorpu bat aurkitu duela esanez.

Maddie harekin doa tokia zaintzera polizia iritsi arte eta, heriotzaren irudiak ikaratzen badu ere, bere ikerketa propioari ekingo dio. Zergatik? Hori izan zen istorioarekin izan nuen lehenengo arazoa: ez da argi ikusten zerk bultzatu duen hori egitera.

Idazkera erraza eta irakurtzeko arina da, baina ikuspuntu guztiak oso antzekoak dira, eta askotan ez nuen pertsonaien ahotsa bereizten, irakurketara etenaldi baten ondoren itzultzean.

Gainera, nahiko erraz asmatzen da egileak nor nahi duen susmagarri gisa agertzea.

Beste galdera bat ere etorri zitzaidan burura: zergatik izan behar dute cozy mystery guztiek protagonista eta poliziaren arteko harreman erromantiko bat? Genero honetan askotan gertatzen den bezala, behartuegia iruditu zitzaidan hain istorio labur baterako. Gainera, saga baten hasiera izanda, nahikoa izango litzateke harremana iradokitzea eta hurrengo liburuetarako tentsioa eta jakin-mina sortzea.

(English)

It took me some time to write this review, as I don’t enjoy writing negative opinions about stories out of respect for all the work that so many people do behind the scenes of a publication.

However, I’ve been shocked to see so many positive — or, more accurately, overly promotional — reviews online that encourage people to read/buy books even when they may not be that good. To me, that feels insincere, and it usually makes me want to unfollow those accounts.

That’s why I’d like to shift my review style toward talking about writing analysis and writing styles rather than focusing on the commercial side of books. There are already plenty of people doing that, with bigger audiences and approaches.

I love writing, and I’d like to reconnect with that aspect of the reading experience as well. It helps me learn and reflect more deeply on what I read.

So instead of focusing on why I didn’t like a story, I’d rather explain why it didn’t work for me from my perspective as both a reader and a wannabe writer.

This time, I read this book quite a while ago, and I barely remember the details—just some feelings and the overall plot. So I’ll start simply.

Maddie Penrose goes to live with grandma Nor on her Cornish farm. Nor needs help at her teashop, and Maddie needs a break. But everything changes when a neighbour rushes in shouting that he has found a body nearby.

Maddie accompanies him to secure the scene until the police arrive, and although she is startled by the sight of death, she begins her sleuthing journey.

Why? That’s the main problem I had with this story—I didn’t really see her motivation.

The writing was easy to read, but the POVs felt too homogeneous, and I could not tell one character’s voice from another. That made it a bit confusing whenever I took breaks between reading sessions.

It was easy to determine who the writer wanted us to suspect as the killer (which, of course, usually means it isn’t them).

Another question: why do all cozy mysteries need a romantic arc between the main protagonist and the detective/policehuman? As it often happens in this genre, it felt forced for such a short story, and since this is the beginning of a series, it didn’t feel necessary at all. It could have been simply hinted at and left as something unresolved to continue building tension and curiosity for future books.

Puntuazioa/Puntuación/Rating: ★★☆☆☆