Enchantment Lake: A Northwoods Mystery by Margi Preus
Genre: Young Adult/Middle-Grade/Mystery
Goodreads Summary:
A disturbing call from her great aunts Astrid and Jeannette sends seventeen-year-old Francie far from her new home in New York into a tangle of mysteries. Ditching an audition in a Manhattan theater, Francie travels to a remote lake in the northwoods where her aunts’ neighbors are “dropping like flies” from strange accidents. But are they accidents?
On the shores of Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota, something ominous is afoot, and as Francie begins to investigate, the mysteries multiply: a poisoned hot dish, a puzzling confession, eerie noises in the bog, and a legendary treasure that is said to be under enchantment—or is that under Enchantment, as in under the lake? At the center of everything is a suddenly booming business in cabin sales and a road not everyone wants built.
**Spoiler Free Review**
Release Date: 13th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from the University of Minnesota Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I hadn't heard anything about this book previous to reading it, however, I was very intrigued by the premise and, I'm not going to lie, the lovely cover drew me in as well.
This book follows Francie, a young girl, who takes on the role of a detective in a secluded lake area where mysterious deaths keep taking place. She takes on the role to protect her two rather batty but lovable Aunties who are sure something suspicious is happening but have no proof.
Despite being a murder mystery novel, I found it rather light-hearted which I enjoyed. The story line was a little bit ridiculous and unbelievable in some ways (such as a teenager being mistaken as a member of the police) but that's what made it really interesting. It was just that little bit silly and witty but equally filled with mystery and suspense that kept me turning the page to find out more. In a way it reminded me of the Professor Layton DS games (if you've ever played them then you'll know what I mean): a rather small, isolated community with lots of strange happenings and a surreal mystery/puzzle which needs to be solved.
I loved Francie's Aunts in this book, they were hilariously witty and slightly bumbling yet incredibly intelligent. I also ended up loving Francie's Grandfather by the end and I found the other small twist at the end quite funny. Some of the characters around the lake weren't explored as much as I'd hoped they would be but I still found them all interesting and somewhat believable.
I have to say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I though I would and I'm definitely intrigued to read more of these mysteries, especially because some of the overarching mysteries about the main character weren't resolved and I think they'll be explored throughout the series.
Overall, it was a light and interesting read, and I would definitely recommend it for those lovers of 'cosy' murder mystery stories and countryside crime novels such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.
A disturbing call from her great aunts Astrid and Jeannette sends seventeen-year-old Francie far from her new home in New York into a tangle of mysteries. Ditching an audition in a Manhattan theater, Francie travels to a remote lake in the northwoods where her aunts’ neighbors are “dropping like flies” from strange accidents. But are they accidents?
On the shores of Enchantment Lake in the woods of northern Minnesota, something ominous is afoot, and as Francie begins to investigate, the mysteries multiply: a poisoned hot dish, a puzzling confession, eerie noises in the bog, and a legendary treasure that is said to be under enchantment—or is that under Enchantment, as in under the lake? At the center of everything is a suddenly booming business in cabin sales and a road not everyone wants built.
**Spoiler Free Review**
Release Date: 13th April 2015
I was sent a copy of this book from the University of Minnesota Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I hadn't heard anything about this book previous to reading it, however, I was very intrigued by the premise and, I'm not going to lie, the lovely cover drew me in as well.
This book follows Francie, a young girl, who takes on the role of a detective in a secluded lake area where mysterious deaths keep taking place. She takes on the role to protect her two rather batty but lovable Aunties who are sure something suspicious is happening but have no proof.
Despite being a murder mystery novel, I found it rather light-hearted which I enjoyed. The story line was a little bit ridiculous and unbelievable in some ways (such as a teenager being mistaken as a member of the police) but that's what made it really interesting. It was just that little bit silly and witty but equally filled with mystery and suspense that kept me turning the page to find out more. In a way it reminded me of the Professor Layton DS games (if you've ever played them then you'll know what I mean): a rather small, isolated community with lots of strange happenings and a surreal mystery/puzzle which needs to be solved.
I loved Francie's Aunts in this book, they were hilariously witty and slightly bumbling yet incredibly intelligent. I also ended up loving Francie's Grandfather by the end and I found the other small twist at the end quite funny. Some of the characters around the lake weren't explored as much as I'd hoped they would be but I still found them all interesting and somewhat believable.
I have to say that I enjoyed this a lot more than I though I would and I'm definitely intrigued to read more of these mysteries, especially because some of the overarching mysteries about the main character weren't resolved and I think they'll be explored throughout the series.
Overall, it was a light and interesting read, and I would definitely recommend it for those lovers of 'cosy' murder mystery stories and countryside crime novels such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.
No comments:
Post a Comment