Stephanie Jane recenzis Back to the Burgh and Beyond de C S McDonald
An absolute delight
4 steloj
Back To The Burgh And Beyond was an absolute delight to read! This first novel in C S McDonald's new Owl's Nest Mysteries series begins with amicably divorced Alexa Owl returning to her Pittsburgh hometown and almost immediately being confronted by two ghosts from the past, one feline and one angelic. These aren't metaphorical ghosts from Alexa's past either, but are strongly connected to the old Pittsburgh pub in which Alexa is soon to open her glamorous couturier business. After she gets often the shock of having purchased a haunted building, Alexa resolves to do her utmost to help resolve the cold case murder that will, hopefully, banish her ghosts.
Alexa is such a fun heroine to spend time with. She is forthright and determined, but also prone to endearing clumsiness and romantic embarrassment. Abetted by her perpetually tipsy new friend, Winnie, I was highly entertained by Alexa's dual life …
Back To The Burgh And Beyond was an absolute delight to read! This first novel in C S McDonald's new Owl's Nest Mysteries series begins with amicably divorced Alexa Owl returning to her Pittsburgh hometown and almost immediately being confronted by two ghosts from the past, one feline and one angelic. These aren't metaphorical ghosts from Alexa's past either, but are strongly connected to the old Pittsburgh pub in which Alexa is soon to open her glamorous couturier business. After she gets often the shock of having purchased a haunted building, Alexa resolves to do her utmost to help resolve the cold case murder that will, hopefully, banish her ghosts.
Alexa is such a fun heroine to spend time with. She is forthright and determined, but also prone to endearing clumsiness and romantic embarrassment. Abetted by her perpetually tipsy new friend, Winnie, I was highly entertained by Alexa's dual life predicament. I'm usually more of a classic crime fan than a cosy crime one, but here I got the best of both. McDonald has a wonderful talent for evoking historic Pittsburgh so I was trasported back to the 1953 city probably more easily than Alexa was - certainly more comfortably anyway! I loved seeing how the same settings had changed after sixty years and was impressed with how authentic details added such depth and atmosphere to this well plotted story. This firm grounding enabled the more fanciful time travel aspect to feel perfectly natural. Back To The Burgh And Beyond is a clever blend of intriguing crime, convincing historical and whimsical fantasy concepts that I felt worked beautifully together. This is a great start to the series and I look forward to discovering what the future - and the past - holds for Alexa in her next adventure.