Murder by Death

This used to be one of my favorite mystery series, and it has all the things I generally enjoy: likeable, fleshed out secondary characters, strong friendships, wacky families, and the bookbinding angle is a serious plus.  But the last couple of books have felt heavier handed than usual in terms of the relationship between the MC Brooklyn, and her now-husband, Derek.  Lovey Dovey is the only term I can think of to adequately describe it.  I prefer affection to be subtle and I don't need to be reminded how much they're in love.  It was all a bit too sweet.

The plot of this one, too, felt overdone.  The guilty person was a caricature villain, and I think it coloured the overall premise of the murder plot: the killer felt cartoonish and silly, so  the plot did too, just a little bit.  It's not a fair bleed over; objectively, the plot it good and not at all a stretch given character back stories.  But the murderer's characterisation just sort of ruined it.

In spite of all of this, I still enjoyed the story well enough; I love the characters and having just recently been to San Francisco, the setting was fun to re-visit. 

I read this book for Halloween Bingo's Amateur Sleuth square.