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Today I’ve got to share my views about that busybody Kellan Ayrwick and his creator James J Cudney (the fourth) (He calls himself secret prince of the hidden land of This is my Truth Now! What sheer arrogance!!)

Kellan Ayrwick dropped into the Braxton Campus in book 1, thanks to his father, the ex-President of the College and then he had the audacity to inveigle into the murder investigation of dead colleagues. Granted that he had the means to interrogate few suspected people and he did achieve a modicum of success, but that was mainly due to the manipulation of the creator James J Cudney more than his own brains. I thought book 1 was going to be a one time success, and Kellan Ayrwick would go back to whichever godforsaken town he came from!!

“You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face.” — King Lear

But nooo.. this nosy pencilpusher had to wriggle in amongst the wealthy and esteemed Paddingtons who were so friendly with that other loud-mouthed sarcastic octogenarian, Nana D. If you ask me, she is no loving grandma like the ones seen in cozy books. But nobody asked me, even the creator James J Cudney didn’t bother to show an iota of respect for me… Sheesh… These 24 year olds, they think they own the world!!

“Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest hereday.”—Macbeth

Coming back to Kellan Ayrwick, in this tale, he didn’t fall into the body, the dead body fell on to his shoulder and he had to get to the truth. James J Cudney is a tricky manipulator here too. He brought in suspicious characters who made up the Paddington family, some friends of Nana D, then he brought in Kellan Ayrwick’s awful, scary in-laws, the Castiglianos, and the not so dead wife Francesca, lastly James J Cudney brought in family, as if we need more of these Ayrwicks in this town. Oh, it was so peaceful before Kellan entered and became Calamity Jane. Now bodies drop wherever he is! Kellan Ayrwick better not come close to me, if he knows what is good for him. James J Cudney better watch out for my wrath in case he had the misfortune to create another one of these.

“Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides: Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.”—King Lear

The plot twisted down so many roads, all these characters were doubt-worthy. Any one of them could have popped the old lady. A pill here and a pill there, and she was gone. James J Cudney then decided this was all too mild a story, so he brought in that Sheriff April Montague. I thought she was my kinda girl, but she turned out to be a bad penny. She started working WITH Kellan Ayrwick and now wants to continue their association in the next book. That traitor!! I blame James J Cudney for all this secret collaboration. They even hid in a closet together. That April has no class, makes poor choices!!

“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.”
Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

I was present throughout this whole show and I was aghast when the murderer was revealed. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“So full of artless jealousy is guilt, / It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.” —Hamlet

I have to admit here James J Cudney is quite a brilliant playwright who knows how to tie all loose ends and bring the tale to an unexpected jaw-dropping ending. I am told by my friend Shalini that he is quite a ‘brief’ writer. Well, kudos to him!!

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”— Twelfth Night

I am Myriam Castle, and this is my truthful statement, the whole truth and nothing by the truth and I stand by my words!!

“To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” — Hamlet

If you want to know who Myriam is, read the book, in fact, read both the books in the series!! She is both James and my favorite character.

I received a digital copy of the book from the author, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!

All my reviews can be found here

When an extra ticket becomes available to see the dress rehearsal of King Lear, Kellan tags along with Nana D and her buddies.

When one of them dies of an apparent heart attack in the middle of second act, Nana D raises her suspicions and asks Kellan to investigate the death. With family members suddenly in debt and a secret rendezvous between an unlikely pair, Kellan learns that the Paddingtons might not be as clean-cut as everyone thinks.

But can Kellan find the killer, or will he get caught up his own stage fright?

Publication Date: 25th November 2018

Publisher: Creativia

59 Responses

      1. I really want to, I’m just drowning under my tbr 😂😅 but I will. Sometime. You’re review is awesome…it’s like acting in writing 😀

        Reply

  12. Shalini, this is gone a bit beyond me. Is this your review or one of those participating in the blog tour! Sorry for my ignorance.
    But with so many twists and manipulation this could be a good story for an indian movie, at least for Malayalam. And I will be happy to watch

    Reply

    1. Hahaha thank you so much… Well, gotta ask Shakespeare for that…
      You were born into greatness by the way you string your words together and by the warmth in your heart ♥ and you had greatness thrust upon you when you became a mother….
      Once a great poet said that when you become a mother of your child, you became the mother of the universe. There can be no other bigger greatness than that.
      Have I explained well?

      Reply

  16. Oh, where do I begin!?!?!
    First… I delayed writing a response so I could properly savor in the beauty of what you’ve written.
    Second… you’ve given me so much inspiration for Myriam in book three… especially since it focuses around her wife, Ursula, and all the demons from the past she’s about to encounter again.
    Third… you’ve gone above, beyond, through, over, under, in between, and anything else I missed in this review.
    Fourth… I’m absolutely honored and humbled by what you’ve done here.
    Fifth… I might need to use some of the quotes here… one was already in book three, but the rest are amazing.
    Sixth… the beauty of this review is not only the words but in the formatting.
    Seventh… you should do this for a living.
    Eighth… the balance of words in here is phenomenal… you have struck the perfect tone of the books.
    Ninth… your namesake is in the book and she must be expanded when Emma’s friend comes to visit again in the next book. I actually have a story planned for Shalini’s professor mother down the line!
    Tenth… I could go on for ever with this list, but I’ll simply say at this point: Thank you.
    xoxo
    j

    Reply

    1. Omg omg Jay, look up 👆 do you see something flying in the sky? THAT’S ME!!! I AM CRYING AND LAUGHING…. OMG OMG OMG this is just so beautiful…
      I am SPEECHLESS

      Reply

  18. Your review was quite entertaining Shalini. I definitely want to read this one, just waiting a bit longer so I am closer to the book blog tour. I enjoyed book one, so expect to enjoy this one as well or even more.

    Reply

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