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Book Review of The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart (Matchmakers, Bk 1)

The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart (Matchmakers, Bk 1)
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3284 more book reviews


Frankly, I cannot imagine the high rating of this book. I found it plodding and tedious. Pushing feminism did not seem appropriate for the era. This is more of a murder mystery with a bit of romance added. I did not find the characters engaging or compelling.

Amelie Hampton is on the staff of her aunt's Marriage Gazette. She answers correspondence from young ladies seeking advice about love. When Amelie watches a couple dine (that she put together), she meets Detective Michael Baker, who is also watching one of the diners. That diner is Harold Radcliff, and Baker suspects that he killed his wife. However, no evidence proves his supposition, so Baker keeps watching.

When Baker, Amelie, Harold Radcliff, and Amelie's cousins are at an evening's entertainment, the main entertainment is killed and placed in a sarcophagus. This is when the story really gets squirrelly. Baker allows Amelie to take notes while they interview the guests for information. The police also hire the female cousins to take pictures of the crime scene.

I think this book would have been better if this book had been edited more tightly. It meandered too much. I think this book would have been better without 50+ pages of extraneous material. They could have started with the stupid quotations at the beginning of each chapter.