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A review by simonlorden
And Then There Was One by Michele Castleman
3.0
I received an ARC through NetGalley from the publisher.
This book is tough to rate. I enjoyed most of it, then part of the ending kind of ruined it for me and dragged it down at least a full star. But let's go chronologically and talk about the things I enjoyed first.
And Then There Was One is both a murder mystery and an LGBT romantic mystery (not clear whether bisexual or lesbian). Lyla is the poor cousin of one of the richest families around, who is working as a nanny on their private little island when the family matriarch is murdered. I especially liked Lyla's perspective because she is part of the family and an outsider at the same time. And this family has enough secrets to fill an island.
I enjoyed the characters, who all felt like their own real people, and I especially liked the little ocean-obsessed great-grandson, Rock. I liked that the matriarch dying actually came with relief for the adult grandchildren, because they could finally figure out how to live their own lives without the toxic pressure.
And then there was that twist at the end. It was a secondary twist that didn't really affect the main plot, so I feel like it didn't add anything to the story except being the biggest cliché that happens in every book with this topic. So it kind of soured the book for me, especially because I actually found the main plot interesting, so this just felt unnecessary.
This book is tough to rate. I enjoyed most of it, then part of the ending kind of ruined it for me and dragged it down at least a full star. But let's go chronologically and talk about the things I enjoyed first.
And Then There Was One is both a murder mystery and an LGBT romantic mystery (not clear whether bisexual or lesbian). Lyla is the poor cousin of one of the richest families around, who is working as a nanny on their private little island when the family matriarch is murdered. I especially liked Lyla's perspective because she is part of the family and an outsider at the same time. And this family has enough secrets to fill an island.
I enjoyed the characters, who all felt like their own real people, and I especially liked the little ocean-obsessed great-grandson, Rock. I liked that the matriarch dying actually came with relief for the adult grandchildren, because they could finally figure out how to live their own lives without the toxic pressure.
And then there was that twist at the end. It was a secondary twist that didn't really affect the main plot, so I feel like it didn't add anything to the story except being the biggest cliché that happens in every book with this topic. So it kind of soured the book for me, especially because I actually found the main plot interesting, so this just felt unnecessary.