Bearly Departed begins an adorable new cozy mystery series by Meg Macy. It had strengths and weaknesses, but I enjoyed this story overall and think the series holds lots of promise.
Silver Hollow â a small town outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan â is a delightful setting that feels so real that I'd love to visit it. And nothing could be more engaging than the family-owned teddy bear gift shop and factory managed by Sasha Silverman. There's plenty of characters, family dynamics, and red herrings to hold interest. Sasha's Uncle Ross is one of my favorite characters, and the mention of his ex-wife coming to work in the shop at the end sounds like a fun theme for the next book.
There are a few things I wish had been different ⦠Maybe it was just me, but a lot of people were introduced in a short space of time â Sasha's family, factory workers, and village people. There wasn't much character depth and I had trouble keeping them straight (a cast list and description at the beginning would have been very helpful). Secondly, while the storyline was interesting, detail slowed the action down. More conversation and action would have been great. There wasn't much profanity, but even a little is a turn off for me. And most importantly of all, it was the teddy bear business that attracted me to this book and I wanted much more of it. In fact, one of my favorite parts was Sasha giving a group tour of the factory in the early pages. Between the shop, community-related events, and families buying the bears, a lot of interest could be created by developing this theme more.
I enjoyed Bearly Departed overall and would like to see how the series develops.
I was provided a free copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Silver Hollow â a small town outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan â is a delightful setting that feels so real that I'd love to visit it. And nothing could be more engaging than the family-owned teddy bear gift shop and factory managed by Sasha Silverman. There's plenty of characters, family dynamics, and red herrings to hold interest. Sasha's Uncle Ross is one of my favorite characters, and the mention of his ex-wife coming to work in the shop at the end sounds like a fun theme for the next book.
There are a few things I wish had been different ⦠Maybe it was just me, but a lot of people were introduced in a short space of time â Sasha's family, factory workers, and village people. There wasn't much character depth and I had trouble keeping them straight (a cast list and description at the beginning would have been very helpful). Secondly, while the storyline was interesting, detail slowed the action down. More conversation and action would have been great. There wasn't much profanity, but even a little is a turn off for me. And most importantly of all, it was the teddy bear business that attracted me to this book and I wanted much more of it. In fact, one of my favorite parts was Sasha giving a group tour of the factory in the early pages. Between the shop, community-related events, and families buying the bears, a lot of interest could be created by developing this theme more.
I enjoyed Bearly Departed overall and would like to see how the series develops.
I was provided a free copy of this book through Great Escapes Tours. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
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