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I greatly enjoyed this re-read. I did remember Mr B’s identity but had forgotten what a bloodbath the rest of it was 😂 Despite the high body count, it does have a really nice cosy feel, and is very funny.

The mystery

I appreciated the nods to classic mystery (two golden-age detectives; I imagine the surname Quirke is a nod to Wimsey) and to Cluedo.

I didn’t get all the references, though:
A colonel, wearing yellow, whose name is Coleman (Coleman’s Mustard) ✅
A reverend, wearing green, whose name is Lincoln (Lincoln Green) ✅
A professor, wearing purple, whose name is Worth — nope, don’t get the Worth/Plum connection
(A professor of mathematics (late reveal, of course), first name James 👍 nicely done)
Tabitha wearing a peacock shawl — didn’t get the Tabitha/Peacock connection

The romance

It’s not a romance in the typical sense of even the “second-chances” trope. In the epilogue, there’s a line “once the wedding’s over, people find marriage intrinsically unhot” and there’s some truth to that; portraying a marriage’s up and downs is harder than a meet-cute.

That said, the relationship stuff is well-done — the bickering is pitch-perfect, any longterm relationship has been there especially when tired and stressed. I did think Hanna was harsh upfront, being pissy because she worked such long hours that her wife got a hobby, but I liked the way they gradually become closer again.

But I’d have liked a sustainable solution aside from “Hanna understands Liza’s hobby more now” — that feels too easy to backslide on, whereas there’s a hint in the middle where Hanna doesn’t really love her job, and I would have liked to hear at the end that she’s found a less lucrative but less demanding and more fulfilling role, or at least is planning for that. That would sell the “we’ve reconciled and will stay together forever” ending for me.

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