For the mystery, this book has a decent case. It starts
strong and intriguing with a kidnapping and ransom case of a wealthy man's
wife. He then fades into the background as we learn that the said wife had been
murdered, allegedly wrongfully convicted and has been sitting in prison for
five years until a good friend of his hires a private investigator to relook
into the case.
The private investigators called FYI are the main
characters: husband and wife, Trey and Sybil, and Trey's mother, Madeleine.
They are rich people who take up cases for fun as they don't need the money if
they believe their clients are innocent.
I want to like this book. I really do. I like murder
mysteries and detective stories, but these characters, their interactions and
relationships are too unrealistic to me. In my opinion, they are very
objectified, and if we take out everything sexually related, there is almost
nothing left. They are unrelatable, and I don't root for them at all. Here are
the examples. As an ex-FBI officer, Sybil approaches, and borderline harasses
their suspect carelessly. Both of them got away with it the first time, but when
she acts alone, with her husband waiting and watching, she is assaulted,
slapped, groped, and harassed, complete with torn clothes with buttons flying
off and everything in the daylight. That should be serious, shouldn't it? But
nothing comes out of it. There are no reactions from them other than some
casual remarks, and they move on to discuss a dress now that her clothes are
torn as if that is Tuesday.
And the dress, sigh, so these two buy a flirty dress from a
consignment shop because it reminds the husband, Trey, about their hotel
receptionist, whom he flirts with openly and apparently lusts for him based on
a few interactions. So, Sybil, the wife, agrees to wear it to fulfil his
fantasy even though she is uncomfortable and protesting multiple times.
Fortunately, it seems like she finally feels okay, and they both enjoy fooling
around in it, but then she decides she doesn't like it, and then they gift it
to the receptionist, Nicole, the one the husband lusts for, because she helps
them with the investigation. This girl apparently expects a threesome
invitation when they invite her to their room. They didn't, but still, she was
delighted to get this third or whatever hand slutty dress. (I have nothing
against reduce, reuse, recycle (because that is the justification), but I
really don't think it's a norm to give people a used slutty dress and loudly
state you give it away because you hate it, as a thank you). To top it all, she
gets so excited and flustered that Nicole leaves with the new dress and forgets
her bra. I don't know, but normal people don't forget undergarments, especially
when they arrive wearing them. That is not all. Sybil then confiscates the bra
and wears it like her own. What is happening here?
Another example is Madeleine, Trey's mother, who, in order
to get the information she needs for the case, opts for performing for a man.
Having a sexual encounter with her female partner while the man watches. Of
course, he promises not to take pictures or videos and to leave the information
if he is happy with the show. Of course. Please remember these are
professional, super-wealthy investigators with money, qualifications, and
reputations. Madeleine is a tech wizard; that's what I know because it is mentioned
more than I see her in action.
I don't have triggers, and I'm really not against mature
scenes. One or two are useful to the plot and characters, but others are very
distracting and absurd.
The villain is supposed to be the charming genius and
psychotic, and there is a potential redeeming ending, but the book doesn't have
enough of it or more scenes about why and how this person is a chameleon and
mastermind because there is almost no actual interaction that conveys his
charm, a missed opportunity because I would certainly root for the villain
instead.
This is my personal opinion, and books are very subjective.
What doesn't work for me might work for others. I think the author writes a
good murder mystery and I like the style of flashbacks as we reveal the case.
3 used flirty dress out of 5 consignment shops
