Simcha-Sophie

Maybe I read this too close to the first novel in the series, but I found this too similar to the first. Young women getting killed by unknown assailant, and the switching points of view between Ellie and the murderer. I'm sure that's not an uncommon premise in so many mysteries and thrillers, but this one didn't quite cut it with me.

There are some places in the book that I had to re-read two or three times, particularly dialogue, to make sense of what was being said. Too frequently, although the characters knew exactly what one another were talking about it went over my head. Then I'd shrug and move on, feeling like it would all come together in the end. Parts of the novel have Ellie, the main character, acting like Wonder Woman and while I realize this is fiction some of that seemed a bit farfetched.

This review is a little less eloquent than the novel. ;)

There is some suspense regarding the identity of the murder but it's not too page-turningly strong. The final scene, the funeral of a victim, feels superfluous and boring. Ellie and her brother and her working partner are all likable enough, and there's nothing really wrong with this book; it's just too similar to the first and somehow blander.