10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
10 Things That Never Happened is such a good book. It is about this guy who works at a bathroom retailer and his boss who owns it. It takes place in England and it follows some hijinks as they navigate an ever-changing relationship. There is amnesia, family drama, Christmas, and one unique looking cat. It is not deep but it is a very fun read. I laughed out loud and found it quick to get through. It was easy, bitchy, gay, and cheeky. I loved the humor and found it real. There were a few things that bothered me though including a couple of the side characters. First off, if someone is that inept, they should have a very stern taking too or be let go. The amount of damage that one person could do and still be employed there was never established. He should have been gone a long time ago. It was infuriating. There was also a young employee that I found annoying as well. All but the first, clown of an employee grew on me throughout the book though. There were also a few editing errors but overall I would recommend this.
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Tag: england
Expensive Wine Will Kill You and Avoid Cave Exploration to Save Yourself
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was hoping that this book would be different than the first one. Sadly, I still do not like the two main characters at all. The Sentence of Death is another book about Hawthorne, the detective, and Anthony, the writer. This time it follows them as they try to solve the death of a divorce lawyer. Another guy, who knew the lawyer, also died the day previous. It is a typical murder investigation with twists and turns. Red herrings and lies abound. The team of two do what they do to find out how everything links and who did what. There is cave exploration, relationship drama, a book club, scripts, and the writing world. There is also mention of wine which is funny and weird as I just got done reading The Billionaire’s Vinegar which involved the rare wine world. I read the jacket of this one and smiled at the mention of a 1982 Châteu Lafite. I also just started listening to the Currently Reading podcast which brought me to this series in the first place (I won’t blame them) but another book they mentioned was also mentioned here. Just two funny little coincidences. I did think the actual plot of the book was ok. I did guess before they officially revealed the solution but just barely. It was interesting how things connected between people and events. After saying that though, the same things that bothered me about the first book pissed me off here. First off, Hawthorne is a self-centered asshole. He is homophobic and doesn’t care how his actions affect others. The only thing he has going for him is his ability to solve crimes but that still doesn’t mask his unpleasantness. It is funny because the actual author of the book writes “you cannot have a central character who is simply, by his very nature, unpleasant, and although I wouldn’t have used that word to describe Hawthorne, there were moments”. Apparently, you can. Secondly, it is interesting that the author writes himself as a bumbling idiot. He has no self-respect, he cannot say no, and he unconsciously tries to foil the investigation. It is beyond annoying. I despise bullies and this book had a couple. I already mentioned one but then the cops. It just frustrates me beyond belief that people get away doing things without consequences. I also did not like the ending. I did have the rest of the books sitting here from the library, but I don’t think I can continue the series right now. It just aggravates me too much.
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