The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly
The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly
I recently listened to “An Irish Bookshop Murder” by Lucy Connelly and enjoyed the cozy murder mystery with a bit of ridiculous thrown in. So when I was given the chance to read this arc, I was happy to be entertained by another quick murder mystery read.
“The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor” was similar to Connelly’s other book I read in that both FMCs recently relocated across the world and are trying to find a new home and life for themselves. Very quickly, a murder happens and they get tangled up in finding out who did it. And maybe they are going a bit too far in how they solve the case, but it’s all for the truth.
I enjoyed the characters of this book and would definitely be interested to read the next installments as all the characters become more developed as their stories continue. It also wasn’t a super obvious or cliche murderer, so although I did figure out who did it, I wasn’t annoyed when I found out because it was still different enough and interesting to see how the clues were put together.
One thing that I didn’t really like in this book though was the fact that Gwen, the FMC, very quickly trusted a near stranger to help her do something illegal. I always find it a bit silly in books or movies like this story where a civilian becomes an amateur detective that is somehow better than the entire police force and yet thinks they can do the job of the police such as interview all the suspects or enter crime scenes, etc. But I will let it go because that is the style of book this is. However, it makes a lot more sense if the main character does something shady with their best friend or a family member who knows what they are like. For a near stranger to be like sure, let me do this illegal thing with you no problem was a bit too much of a stretch for me.
Overall though, I still enjoyed the main character Gwen and am interested to see where her story leads. I’ll also be picking up more of the Mercy McCarthy series from Connelly that I first read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for a review.
Synopsis: After crossing the pond, Dr. Gwen Griffith finds herself in the quirky place she fell in love with, Dillynaidd, Wales. A former managing editor for a Texan newspaper, Gwen is ready for the next stage in her life as the head of the journalism department at the local university in town. With her best friend, Carolyn Sparks–who is also the university’s dean–at her side, Dillynaidd feels like a dream, until murder comes knocking at her doorstep.
Gwen had only just met the victim, Dr. Alice Rice, at a faculty party but that doesn't stop police detective Gareth Jones from suspecting her of foul play–after all the victim was found on her doorstep. With her journalism background, Gwen decides that it’s up to her to clear her own name. But she’ll need all the help she can get when her idyllic small town life is turned upside down in order to stay one step ahead of the killer.