Case 33: The Agathas

lapetitepritt

Jun 27

Hello, bookworms!

How's the beginning of summer/winter treating you? I know the new season(s) haven't properly started yet, but the climate seems to think otherwise. I am not ready for July/August when it will be 40°C or more, my low blood pressure is going to be a nightmare. Luckily, in August I will be going to Iceland, so that will be cool (pun intended, hehe).

Today I am here with the second to last book reviews of things I read back in May. Since I wanted to end last month on a positive note, I kept these two reviews for the start of June, because both the books we are going to be talking about were very average.

Anyways, as a big Agatha Christie fan, I had to read The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson, so today we are going to be reviewing it as our 33rd "case".

Disclaimer
I received an e-ARC of this book (which is now available in its final and corrected form) from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley; this does not affect my rating nor my opinions in any way. Everything you'll find in this review is what I actually think and it wasn't influenced by anyone. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

About the book
Title: The Agathas
Series: The Agathas #1
Authors: Kathleen Glasgow, Liz Lawson
Publisher: Delacorte
Publication date: 3 May, 2022
Pages: 412

Plot, as stated on Goodreads
Last summer, Alice Ogilvie's basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve's girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice's ex–best friend. And it doesn't look like Brooke will be coming back… Enter Iris Adams, Alice's tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn't have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke's grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter's whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn't so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. In order to get the reward and prove Steve's innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there's anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it's the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Review
In case this is the first time you happen to read one of my reviews, there are two things you have to know: mystery is my favourite genre and the first mystery books — aside from children's books — I've ever read were Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple stories.

So, of course when I found out there was going to be a YA mystery called "The Agathas", with the tagline What would Agatha Christie do? I simply had to pick it up and read it.

I wasn't expecting it to be the next literary masterpiece of the century, but I sure hoped the Christie-ness of it all would be way more pronounced than it actually was, to be honest.

Aside from this, the mystery wasn't the most original thing I've ever read, it was a very basic YA mystery that could have come out around the same time One Of Us Is Lying did. It felt a bit too old, but not enough to count as an hommage to the queen of mystery herself.

I am not going to lie, I think A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Truly Devious are the main cause why I always struggle to find YA mysteries that I end up falling in love with, because those two series are simply superior in my eyes and nothing will ever be like them.

What I did like were the two main characters, because they were both extremely unlikeable and a bit amoral. Which might sound absurd to you, but I like unlikeable characters in mysteries, especially when they are the detectives or, like in this case, the teen sleuths. It makes it way more interesting to follow their investigation if they are not goody-two-shoes.

The writing style was nice. I honestly couldn't put the book down, in spite of it not being the most original or intriguing thing I've ever read, because the style was that perfect blend of things that make YA mysteries such a quick and compulsively readable genre.

I couldn't tell the book was written by two different authors, which — in cases like this one — I think is a good thing. You have to edit the whole thing to make it feel whole, and the authors (and, presumably, their editors) did a great job at it. I don't know if they wrote a POV/character each or if both of them wrote both Alice and Iris, but it was a good mix.

I wasn't sure if I was going to read the second book in the series, at first, but the more I think about it, the more I am curious to see how the two of them become closer friends and how their friendship will develop. And also, what kind of mystery they are going to try and solve next. Based on the ending of book one, I have a good idea, but we will see.

Even if it wasn't the best book I've ever encountered in my life, I would still recommend it if you enjoy the genre and are looking for something quick and easy to read. You can totally ignore the fact that this is a series, so if you just want to read book one you can, the mystery at the core of the story is solved by the end of the book and you won't miss anything.

I will be of course review the second book as soon as I get to it, in the meantime I'd love to know if you've read it and what you thought of it if you did. Do you like Alice or Iris more? Personally, I am team Alice for now, but we will see how it goes in the future.