I didn't like this book from the start. I can't stand when authors kill off a character we've only met once. It makes no sense, especially when the character is odious (like Nancy was) because then I don't care who murdered her! Anyone could've, and they would've been doing the town a favor, so why bother investigating? Juliet's reasons for investigating were essentially non-existent - she had to contrive excuses to keep herself involved in a case she had no business working on.
Speaking of Juliet, was it really necessary to mention on every other page that she worked on a cruise ship? The first time I read that I thought âoh, interesting! What a unique job!â But after the fiftieth mention I felt ready to roll my eyes. Tight quarters and seasickness can only be mentioned so many times before becoming redundant.
Overall I found Juliet really difficult to root for. She came off as a complete fool, unable to connect two and two together at any point. Her mom and the professor are making eyes at each other and seen together in restaurants, and she can't figure out what that means? Or when she was unable to figure out at the end that Caroline wasn't suffering from a concussion, she really wanted to kill her? I'm not sure how many times someone would have to threaten me with a knife until I thought they were serious, but it wouldn't be all that many, let me tell you.
