This is the 2nd book in the Happy Hoofer series by Mary McHugh. I did not enjoy this one quite as much as the first book, Chorus Lines, Caviar and Corpses. I think the narrator just didn't appeal to me as much in this book as it did in the first.
McHugh has taken a creative approach to her narration that in principle I like, each of the books in the series is narrated by a different member of the dance troupe. Conceptually a great idea, but I just didn't care for this narrator, Gini. I guess one aspect could be that different readers might relate better to different characters, and thus make the series as a whole more appealing to a broader range of readers. McHugh even comments in both books about how each member of the dance troupe has different personalities and traits that they love and dislike about each other. Which is probably very realistic of most friendship groups.
Gini is a strong personality, just as Tina, the narrator of book 1 was. I just found her too abrupt and butting in too much. She bordered on rude at some points. She seemed very dismissive of those who didn't share her beliefs on certain topics. In many ways I just wanted to story to end so I didn't have to "listen" to her anymore.
The mystery itself was a well written one although there were a few editing errors, they kept saying they were on a cruise (book 1 setting) when they were aboard a train. The setting in Spain was very alluring and very descriptive. I like the balance of landscape and scenery description with the other cultural features that are included in the stories. I have several more installments in the series and will continue to read them as I enjoy this aspect of the series a lot even if the characters might be a bit annoying. Hopefully the next narrator's perspective and personality will be more appealing.
Flamenco, Flan, and Fatalities by Mary McHugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While I enjoyed this book it didn’t engage me quite as well as the first book in the series. I think I didn’t really care for the narrator in this book. I like how the author is varying the narrator between different Happy Hoofers in each of her books but I just didn’t care for Gini very much. I did enjoy the descriptions of the Green Spain area of northern Spain. I liked McHugh’s ability to mix descriptions of the scenery and culture in with the storyline. I will continue to read the series to see how I like the next narrator
Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Literary Escapes #LiteraryEscapes Spain
- Mount TBR #MountTBR2021 Book #8
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #57
- Calendar of Crime #CalendarOfCrime2021
- Cruisin thru Cozies free choice 19
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #41
- Craving for Cozies Book #35
- Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2021 Book Set On A Train
- Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
- Beachcomber Challenge
- Crime Scenes
- Row 3
- Train or subway
- Weapons
- Row 1
- Poison, poisoned food
- Detectives- Gini
- Victims- Shamblees, Steve
- Six Shooter Challenge Target #53 Shot #2
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