renpuspita's reviews
1353 reviews

 We take a break from Kate's adventure and now it's time for her bestie, Andrea Nash to take the spotlight. Her story also told from 1st PoV and while Andrea is ofc kickass and badass like Kate, their voice is different. Gunmetal Magic is pretty much Andrea's full story, about her growth, her acceptance of her beastkin nature and her relationship with her bouda lover, Raphael Medrano. Through Magic Bleeds and Magic Slays, reader get to know about Andrea's fallen from grace, not only she got "retired" (more like expelled) from the Order of the Merciful Aid, Raphael also disappointed because apparently Andrea choose the Order rather than the Pack. Can't blame the man, though. He really fallin in love hard especially shown from the novella Magic Mourns. But, we forget that he also spoiled brat, so what he did to Andrea in the first part of the book is pretty much mean and cruel. But, I'm glad that their falling out get resolved quick and no need to prolong the drama.

In Gunmetal Magic, Andrea finally embrace her beastkin and also relent to Aunt B's request for her to join Clan Bouda. The last part kinda feel a little bit anticlimatic knowing Andrea in the previous books is pretty gung ho to reject the Pack. Or maybe, just maybe by accept her beastkin nature, it's the way of Andrea to tell "Oh, I have enough!!". So, while her joining Clan Bouda seems a little bit of nowhere, I think Andrea also did it because of her relationship with Raphael. Speaking about relationship, I crack up when reading part of Kate tell Andrea that her relationship with Raphael is pretty much like Spanish telenovella. Complete with tortured glances and twin brothers comment, lel. But, yeah, both Andrea and Raphael are dramatic, drama queen is their middle name. Bouda hyenas sure love dramas and make a statement. Although, I like that Raphael is not uber jealous and territorial like Curran. It's shown that he didn't mean when Roman get closed to Andrea, although of course both men still bickering and punching each other. The breaking and entering between Raphael and Andrea is of course hilarious as hell and one of my favorite scene as well.

Speaking about Roman, a REALLY INTERESTING FELLA! Sigh, IA know how to make charming secondary male characters like Roman and Barabas. I cracked up reading Roman's comment "you shall not pass" and Andrea wry remarks about him now being Gandalf. This is why I love reading IA books, so many one punch liners that are witty, sarcastic and full of dry humor. The mystery itself pretty solid and I like the touch of Egypt and Slavic myth. I like IA's take regarding the origin of mythology, legend and god's worship. There are a hint about First, a mix of human and animal that apparently are more special than ordinary human. Erra already said that Curran is a First in Magic Bleed and in this book, the enemy also said that they avoid the Pack because the Pack is lead by Curran, a First. Pretty much intriguing, huh. 

Gunmetal Magic also have a bonus novella, Magic Gifts that back to Kate and Curran. The timeline of this novella apparently happen before and within the timeline of Gunmetal Magic and some part of the novella and the novel are intertwined. We get a glimpse into Neo Viking Heritage, a community that have Viking ways not Viking people, so even you are not born in Skandinavia or something as long you willing to embrace your viking way, you will get accepted. The situation about the Mercenary Guild also got solved and show the glimpse that behind all that arrogance and jealousy, Curran is a strategic thinker and really a manipulator to the core. The scene when Kate and Curran have a date is my favorite because it's rare to see them being relaxed and pretty much in love for each other.

A good book in Kate Daniels world that show glimpse into our favorite Bouda beastkin, Andrea Nash and her personal growth! 

 As an Indonesian, I'm almost dread the time when I start reading Magic Dreams, a novella about Dali and Jim. Dali is an Indonesian and while I'm surprised and appreciated IA to include Indonesian characters in their Kate Daniels world, I'm also skeptical as well to see how my nationality and also myth get interpreted by American author. I have a "WHY, ILONA ANDREWS, WHY??" moment when knowing Dali's full name is Dali Harimau. Harimau itself is a name of animal. It's Indonesian equivalent of "tiger". Naming your character as Dali "Tiger", I find it as weird. I can pass of Dali name, it's unique. The "harimau" part is what grate my nerves, lel.

Anyhow, I still rate this novella 4* because I really like Dali and Jim's relationship. While also ass-kicking in her own way, I appreciate that Dali is DIFFERENT compared to Kate and Andrea. She have self doubt and get easily jealous because apparently she feel that she's not that strong like Kate. I like that Dali fight the enemy that threat Jim's life with her own way and using her knowledge and brain rather than brawn. I like that IA insert some of "Asian Value" in Magic Dreams with making Dali's mother (she has no name, yet) act like how Asian Tiger Mom behave. Seeing Dali's mother neighbor house have some fengshui, I guess Dali is part of Balinese and Chinese-Indonesian. Maybe Dali's mother is the Chinese-Indonesian ones. If there's one name that IA make it right, it's Dali's uncle name whose name is Aditya. At least that Indonesian name that I know and familiar, lel. 

There's some of misspelling like the son of nine dragon supposed to be Suanni not Suanmi and the Balinese tree "Bunut Bolog" is "Bunut Bolong". I'm amused when reading Dali and her mother converse in Indonesian (that translate in English and in italic) and Jim chimed in "Mengapa". I think maybe IA want to translate the word "why", but "why" can be translate to "kenapa atau mengapa" depend of the meaning. Still I find it entertaining to read how Jim admit that he smitten by Dali and he learn Indonesian in order to get to know her. Now, that what I called "aww moment". Jim that I know is a snarky man that take Pack's security above all others. To know he have his soft and romantic side make me see him in the new light.

The case has some Japanese myth and beside that Dali might be an otaku herself, there's no explanation why she practice shodo magic at the first place. Why choose Japanese, since she admit that she's Hindu and why not using an Indonesian magic. But, since Indonesia is a religious country with majority of its citizen is Muslim and I'm also Muslim as well, the magic using is unheard of. This is me speaking as Indonesian, mind you. So I guess why IA make Dali using Japanese's curse magic is because its easier to write/research or what. Although they use "Keong Emas" myth that I'm embarrassed to admit this myself, I don't really familiar with it, lel.

With the complaining and the appraising (why can't I do both?), I still enjoy Dali and Jim's little story and I hope there's more about them in the future. 

Magic Mourns is a novella about Andrea Nash, Kate's besties and a member of Order of the Knight of Merciful Aid. The novella first published in Must Love Hellhound and actually I had read the anthology but only read Nalini Singh's Angel's Judgement because at that time I'm still not read Kate Daniels yet. My complaint back then about Angel's Judgement is the hound basically just a pet. That's not the case with Magic Mourns because the hellhound is the real deal. It's the Cerberus itself and so the Greek mythology play a big part of the story especially myth about Hades.

Told entirely from 1st PoV, we finally see the story through Andrea's lenses. The timeline itself happen after Magic Strikes, so better to read Magic Strikes first to have a better grab of the story. Because there's mention of Raphael's mischief that happen in Strikes and how he already pursue Andrea from the first time he meet her. But, Andrea being Andrea, and actually she's the same with Kate, so she reject him. At first. Don't fret, there's no need for many books to see Andrea and Raphael's relationship blooming because Andrea decide to give a chance. I also got insight about the bouda or werehyena clan and Andrea's original bouda clan (the ones that is not part of the Pack) is nasty and sick af. No wonder Andrea have a really big issues with her hyena part because the way she was conceived.

The story itself is pretty good for a novella and give satisfying conclusion. I don't remember if Teddy Jo already introduced in book 1 to 3 but in this novella reader will get the revelation of his original form. Andrea and Raphael is now an item, but I see a problem in the horizon that apparently will get explored more in Andrea's full book, Gunmetal Magic. Still a recommended novella in the world of Kate Daniels and if you like Hades myth that not focused in the relationship between Hades and Persephone. 

 Padahal jawabannya itu sudah JELAS BANGET DI DEPAN MATA, tapi KENAPA gue masih gagal aja nebak siapa pelakunya? Kalau Emily Trefusis bertanya - tanya mengapa si pelaku membunuh Kapten Joe Trevelyan, kalau gue hanya bisa geleng - geleng kepala karena salah nebak. Again 🤣

Kasusnya sendiri unik. Saat salju turun deras di Sittaford, Mrs Willet bersama orang2 yang dia undang mengadakan seance atau kalau diterjemahkan jadi meja berputar. Mungkin mirip2 juga sama papan ouija ya. Awalnya iseng, ternyata "roh" yang mereka panggil bilang kalau Kapten Trevelyan terbunuh. Mendengar hal itu, teman akrab kapten yaitu Major Burnaby nekat jalan kaki 9 km ke Exhampton, tempat tinggal Kapten Trevelyan dan menemukan sahabatnya sudah tewas. Pertanyaannya tentu saja, siapa yang membunuh si Kapten? Kok bisa itu "roh"nya bisa menebak kalau kapten sudah tewas? 

The Sittaford Mystery ini salah satu buku stand alone karangan Dame Christie, jadi tidak ada penampilan baik dari Hercule Poirot ataupun Ms Marple. Tapi menurut gue yang jadi detektifnya juga tak kalah menarik. Polisi yang menginvestigasi yaitu Inspektur Naracott cukup punya kapabilitas untuk melakukan investigasi. Tapi bintang utamanya sendiri adalah Emily Trefusis yang menjadi amateur sleuth karena tunangannya yang bernama James Pearson - yang kebetulan si James ini keponakan Kapten Trevelyan serta sedang kesulitan keuangan- ditangkap oleh polisi akibat tuduhan telah membunuh sang paman. Emily yakin kalau James bukan pembunuh, soalnya James terlalu lemah dan bodoh buat melakukan pembunuhan. Gue kalau misal jadi James mungkin kesel juga tapi Emily tampak seperti cewek alpha yang emang ga bisa dibantah dan rela melakukan apa saja untuk membuktikan James tidak bersalah. Jadi, ya James sebenarnya cukup beruntung walau gue bisa banyangin kalau James dan Emily jadi menikah maka James bakal jadi yang sering ngalah, hehehe. Dibantu dengan Charles Enderby, seorang wartawan koran setempat yang tampaknya menaruh hati sama Emily, Emily melakukan investigasinya dengan mendekati orang2 di Sittaford maupun keluarga Kapten Trevelyan.

Buku ini punya dua pertanyaan yang perlu jawaban. Yang pertama tentu saja siapa pembunuh Kapten Trevelyan dan gimana cara dia membunuh si Kapten. Sementara yang kedua, apakah Emily bakal ngebalas perasaan Charles dan meninggalkan James yang lemah tak berdaya karena jadi tertuduh pembunuhan. Untuk yang pertama, jelas gue ga bisa nebak dengan benar hahaha, padahal cara pembunuhannya sendiri cukup logis dan ga outlandish kayak beberapa buku Agatha Christie yang udah pernah gue baca. Bisa banget dipraktekkan lah di dunia nyata. Terkait Emily dan Charles, ya baca sendiri aja hehe walau gue cukup suka interaksi keduanya. Seperti karya2 Dame Christie, tentunya banyak red herring yang dilemparkan supaya bikin pembaca (baca: gue) bingung sendiri. Untuk alurnya sendiri cukup oke walau ada bagian2 yang cukup rasis, tapi mengingat buku ini ditulis tahun 1930an pada tahun itu kan rasisme emang masih ada. Nuansanya sendiri emang penuh salju jadi kalau mau cari buku bertema Natal, buku ini bisa sih dibaca. Gue baca - baca Wiki juga katanya ada kemiripan suasana dan setting antara The Sittaford Mystery dan The Hound of Baskervilles karya Conan Doyle. Menariknya, nama Sir Arthur Conan Doyle juga disebut di buku ini.

Bukan salah satu buku yang terbaik karya Dame Christie tapi bagi gue tetep menarik dan menghibur. Cocok juga kalau kalian baru pertama kali baca buku Agatha Christie karena ini juga stand alone ceritanya. Oh ya, kalau kalian baca buku ini dengan cover terbitan terbaru dari Gramedia yaitu nuansa putih plus merah

maka gambar di cover bakal make sense setelah tahu akhir ceritanya. Ngeselin banget sih, hahaha

 Pesan utama buku ini benarnya simpel saja yaitu...

 BACALAH Syarat dan Ketentuan yang Berlaku!!

Membaca Zenitendo mau ga mau mengingatkan gue sama komik - komik tentang toko ajaib yang menjual barang - barang ajaib dan juga ghoib karena hanya bisa ditemukan sama orang - orang tertentu. Sang penjaga toko bernama Beniko akan memberimu sebuah jajanan yang akan ditukar dengan koin atau uang Yen keluaran tahun tertentu. Ceritanya rerata episodik tapi temanya sama semua, tentang jajanan ajaib yang akan mengubah nasib orang yang memakannya. Bisa nasib baik, bisa nasib buruk. Yah, agak - agak mengingatkan gue sama premis manga XXXHolic lah ya.

Buku ini emang buat anak - anak banget, tulisannya GEDE-GEDE yang tentunya sangat ramah mata gue yang udah mulai uzur ini. Penerjemahannya oke dan renyah dibaca. Yang gue cukup terkejut meskipun buku anak - anak, tapi beberapa tokoh di buku ini tuh ada yang orang dewasa! Jadi Zenitendo pun bisa banget dibaca orang dewasa! Cerita favorit gue di buku ini itu Es Berhantu. Walau agak horor2 dikit, ternyata endingnya sangat menarik. Apalagi Miki, cewek 21 tahun yang dapat camilan Es Berhantu ini ga keberatan sama hantu - hantu yang muncul gegara dia makan Es itu. Sementara cerita Pohon Pemasak agak bikin terharu bacanya :').

Zenitendo sendiri series yang terdiri dari 20 buku tapi karena bukunya tipis - tipis kayak manga, jadi ga butuh waktu lama buat baca buku ini. Buku yang bisa dibaca dalam sekali duduk (atau kalau kamu lagi kejar setoran reading challenge) dengan tema yg unik dan pesan moral yang menurut gue bisa diterima semua kalangan. Moga2 KPG komit nerbitin semua buku2 Zenitendo ini yaaah 

 Sebenarnya mau kasih 4 bintang, tapi, hmmm...kayak ada bagian yang gue ga sreg dan itu cukup spoiler jadi review ini bakal banyak spoiler, you've been warned. Sama mungkin karena mood gue ga terlalu bagus waktu baca buku ini, hahaha.

Sebelumnya, applause dulu buat Yuu atau Ayu, yang gue kenal dari BBI, karena tulisannya rapi dan enak dibaca. Walau beberapa dialog mungkin agak kurang renyah, tapi ga mengurangi kenikmatan baca. Sayangnya, kelemahan buku ini adalah sebenarnya fokus genrenya mau kemana? Misteri? Atau malah magical realism mengingat ada bagian Kencana masuk "dunia nasib" saat dia melakukan pembacaan ampas kopi aka tasseografi? Ditambah dengan alur maju mundur antara tahun 2005-2006 dan 2013 kalau kamu ga fokus bacanya maka akan kejadian kayak gue dimana bakal bolak - balik halaman bukunya dan mikir "info apa yang gue lewat pas bacanya?" Selain itu dengan memasukkan element buku The Picture of Dorian Gray, gue juga agak jengkel karena jujur gue belum baca bukunya jadi ga dapet metafora - metafora yang mengacu sama buku itu. Tapi, itu gue doang sih. Mungkin pertanda juga habis ini setidaknya coba baca buku itu satu kali.

Plot twist untuk beberapa bagian seperti misteri di balik peristiwa bunuh diri Saras dan identitas Linda cukup oke. Social commentary Ayu terkait

kejadian pemerkosaan di kampus mungkin agak terlalu preachy buat gue tapi gue akuin ada benarnya meski bisa ditulis tanpa terlalu menggurui

. Gue agak tertegun juga karena dengan lini deTeens, issue - issue di buku ini cukup berat sebenarnya buat dibaca remaja dan juga tokoh - tokohnya sendiri semuanya udah dewasa dimana pada tahun 2005 Kencana itu mahasiswa awal semester sementara di 2013 dia udah umurnya mau 30-an. Konten LGBTnya menurut gue sangat subtil tapi seandainya eksplisit juga ga masalah. Gue udah bisa nebak kalau Linda itu emang suka Kencana sejak awal, hahaha.

Sayangnya, banyak bagian - bagian yang terasa penulisannya nanggung atau bahkan tidak jelas konklusinya seperti

bagian Farran menghilang. Ga jelas juga alasan Farran menghilang kemana bahkan sampai akhir cerita pun ga ada ditulis. Jadi fungsi Farran selain ngajarin Kencana tasseografi itu terus apa? Kenapa juga terus Kencana mau susah payah tetap membuka kedai Black Dreams? Karena berharap siapa tahu Farran balik? Sementara untuk bagian Linda, kalau udah sering baca thriller/mistery psikologis pasti udah ga kaget sih. Apalagi Kencana sendiri juga dibikin semacam kayak unreliable narrator gitu

. Pun saat bagian Kencana akhirnya tahu kenyataan di balik meninggalnya Saras dimana

dia memojokkan pelakunya, kenapa si pelaku dengan enteng dan mau - mau aja ngerekam pengakuan dia? Ini semacam aneh banget ga sih, lel. Atau Ayu emang pengen gambarin pemikiran seorang pemerkosa yang emang pas dibaca bikin ga nyaman, tapi apa ya perlu adegan sengaja ngerekam pengakuan itu?

. Gue juga ga bisa terkoneksi sama Kencana yang menurut gue terlalu "lempeng" walau emang ada alasannya kenapa Kencana seperti itu. 

Buku ini tipis, tapi menurut gue isinya cukup "berat". Bagian tasseografinya menarik buat dibaca dan misterinya juga cukup oke ditulisnya. Kalau ingin baca misteri yang tidak biasa dan sekaligus juga mengulik isu gender, seksualitas dan utamanya fakta gelap ketimpangan relasi antara civitas akademia di kampus, bolehlah coba baca Kahve ini. Sayangnya, gue ga suka kopi bahkan bau kopi aja bisa bikin gue pusing XD. 

  The premise and execution of My Best Friend's Exorcism remind me of Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampire. A female heroine vs a big baddie in the form of man. Although, I think Hendrix might use the basic of Exorcism for Southern since this book released first. However I reduce the star because

why the dog die? WHY and WHYYYY Hendrix? Is that scene necessary? IS IT????? .

Just like Southern and Horrorstor, I admit that Hendrix is one of few male authors that their book I'd read that can write female characters. Exorcism's heroine is literally a teenager and the 80's setting kinda bring nostalgia although the said nostalgia is more like songs that I know (Like a Virgin, Against all Odd). Reading this book test my patience, because the way Abby, Gretchen, Margaret and Glee written. Because, they ARE teenager. Teenager supposed to be annoying, I suppose. There are some scenes when Abby act so stupid I want to smack her head, but I remind myself, Abby is a teenager. I act stupid too in my teenager era, lel. 

The core of this book is ofc like stated in the title, is the friendship between Abby and Gretchen. Yes, their motto "I love you dearly but not queerly" is kind of problematic although in the end they amend that. The test that Abby and Gretchen endured, especially from Abby's side is extraordinary. Reading the scenes when Abby attacked by demon-Gretchen in which Abby shunned by her friends remind me when in Southern's BC Patricia's sanity also questioned when she accuse James Harris for being a vampire. To said my emotions doing a roller coaster is an understatement. Just like Horrorstor, this book also filled with many 80's things, such as band poster, radio logo, pamphlet, etc. 

As for the exorcism, we got the exorcism. BUT, not the way I imagine at first. The demon got banished by

the power of friendship and love between Abby and Gretchen

, it's so campy to read and left me dumbfounded. As per Hendrix's tradition, so many disturbing scenes to read. The scene when Margaret throw up something something disgusting will make me questioning any diet supplements and it's make me shudder just for imagining it. Contrary to Horrorstor and Southern BC, the creepiness factor is not much so if you don't like ghost, this book don't have ghost in it. Only demon, a nasty demon that love to bring discord and chaos. The 80's setting also mean there's racism like the scene when Abby tell Margaret that she look like Ethiophian because Margaret is so thin because of her sickness make me go WTF. Yeah, so many offensive things happen so proceed with cautions and please check the TW/CW list first.

If I ranked Hendrix's book that I had read, this book ranked the third. Southern BC still number one for me, followed by Horrorstor. If you want to read about horror that have possession on it with at least a decent exorcism scenes and the roller-coaster emotion that follow, My Best Friend's Exorcism might be right up of your alley. 

 Premise is good and the haunted house with its quirky residence is a delight to read. However, after 50% mark, the story pace become weird and the villain's motive in the end is very sad to read. The romance itself is okay, it's not everyday you read a male librarian. Usually the librarian that I read in romance novel are women. Although, too many vomit inducing scene in the first chapter so you've been warned. Third act breakup scene make me rolling my eyes because of the drama ensues and the conclusion also very easy. Do I want to read the next? I don't know. If the e-book version is on sale maybe I will give it a chance :P. 

 PER.FEC.TION

Okay, call me exaggerated, but well, the last Guild Hunter book I read was in 2022! For me, Guild Hunter is one of my favorite series that I still read when there's so many new books released. Elena and Raphael will always be one of my favorite power couple and reading Archangel's Lineage is akin to meet an old friend and ask them "hey, how do you do??". 

I know that Elena and Raphael can be so lovey dovey and their love declaration feels sappy, but heh, I need sappy. I need their romance! After the war with the Creepiness Lijuan in Archangel's War, three books that follow mostly feels like filler for me. More like dealing with the aftermath of the Cascade of Death. We got the pairing that "welp, I don't see that coming" in form of Titus and Sharine. We got the pairing that most fans want who are Illium and Aodhan, but for me their story can be delivered better rather than make them like kindergarten child and throwing a woman in the mix (did we need that???). We got that pairing that is so toxic from the get go, Alexander and Zanaya. I think, that's enough. I need my Elena and Raphael's fix. They are the bread and butter of this series, the core. And I'm glad that Nalini didn't disappoint with Archangel's Lineage

I know that in my initial response, I make a joke about this one with mention about Lijuan. But, don't fret, there's no trace of Lijuan other than only mentioning here and there. Nalini also show that Lijuan's crimes was so severe that vampires and angels alike tend to don't want to speak her name. At all. Kinda like Voldemort with his "you-know-who" moniker. Just like another Elena-Raphael's book, major events also happen in Archangel's Lineage. The war is ending and the time flash forward to 15 years later. But, The Refuge's protective shield is falling, Qin abandon his duty as archangel because he can't fathom to be apart from his beloved,Cassandra; The Cadre is now just 8 and they need another Archangel to hold Qin's territory, the mark of the Legion in Raphael's temple suddenly blazing and to make matter worse, Jeffrey just got heart attack and in the verge of death.

For me, Archangel's Lineage tied up some loose end strings. The continuous fight between Elena and Jeffrey finally come to an end, with maybe nearing death Jeffrey change his mind therefore giving chance for father and daughter to mend their relationship. Nalini also further mend Elena's relationship with both her stepmother, Gwendolyn, and her stepsiblings, Amy. I think this book is all about wound mended. Not all wound will heal fully, but at least Elena finally take step forward to let go of her grief and also her anger toward Marguerite's decision to suicide, therefore put a nail in the coffin that is broken relationship between Elena and Jeffrey. I know that the "drip, drip, drip" part might be annoying, but it also show that some nightmare was difficult to disappear. Elena know that and she must live with that for eternity. What I also like is how Nalini portray the price of the immortality and eternity. Lineage show that Elena is now in her 45-ish but her appearance is still the same when she first become angel in Archangel's Kiss. While her sister, Beth already in middle age and also her best friend, Sara. How Elena must face that in the future, her mortal family with long gone. It adding some melancholy feeling to this book, together with how finally Jeffrey and Elena become father and daughter again.

I'm glad there's no talk about baby, lel. The lineage itself come from Raphael and the new archangel that also have connection to the Legion. After 16 books, Nalini finally try to explain the origin of the angelkind although she still not revealed it fully. For certain, they are not alien from space, explained by Raphael's embarrassing moment when he and Uram try to fly to the moon and failed (and begged for Jessamy to not record his young stupidity). The mechanic behind the Refuge's shield also explain, BUT, the origin of angelkind some of it still shrouded in mystery. I don't know for certain if they are will be explained at all.

I have a guts that Archangel's Lineage may be the final arc of Elena and Raphael story, BUT, NOOOO, I WANT MORE OF THEM, sobs. I don't know who the next will be featured if Nalini write about Guild Hunter again. Maybe Vivek with his lady vampire, Katrina. Maybe Andreas with his lady vampire (see a pattern here?). I just hope if there's any future Guild Hunter books, Nalini will again feature my favorite couple!
 

 Setelah baca beberapa buku Dame Agatha Christie, gue baru sadar kalau belum pernah baca series beliau yang Miss Marple. Digadang - gadang sebagai cozy mystery, setelah baca Murder at the Vicarage sebenarnya ga cozy banget sih, walau settingnya emang iya di kota kecil dimana setiap orang minimal saling kenal. Plus yang paling mencolok, ibu - ibu (atau nenek2) yang hobi bergosip, salah satunya tentunya Miss Jane Marple. Tapi bukan sembarang gosip murahan, beda dengan tetangga2nya, Miss Marple dikaruniai observasi yang tajam dan kemampuan deduksi yang tentunya ga kalah dengan detektif partikelir yang juga karangan Dame Christie, yaitu Hercule Poirot.

Buku ini ditulis di tahun 1930, jadi beberapa tokohnya membahas kemerosotan moral setelah WW I. Menariknya lagi, berkali - kali disebut Sherlock Holmes dan Arsene Lupin. Mungkin ini homage kali ya atau mungkin juga siapa kira kalau di masa - masa setelahnya Poirot dan juga Miss Marple disejajarkan sama Sherlock Holmes juga. Murder at the Vicarage sendiri diceritakan dari sudut pandang pertama seorang pendeta bernama Leonard Clement atau yang lebih akrab disapa dengan nama Len. Jadi bisa dibilang tokoh utamanya ya Pak Pendeta ini dengan Miss Marple sebagai tokoh sampingan. TAPI, pada akhirnya justru Miss Marple lah yang berhasil memecahkan misteri kasus pembunuhan Kolonel Protheroe. Cuma gara - gara apa? Ya gara - gara observasinya yang teliti dan juga gegara pelakunya melakukan hal yang mungkin menurut si pelaku remeh banget tapi bagi Miss Marple itu aneh!

Tentunya gue sekali lagi berasa bego pas tahu siapa pembunuhnya, padahal baru beberapa minggu lalu baca bukunya Dame Christie yang sebenarnya motif pelakunya sama wkwkwk. Tapi disitulah menurut gue kehebatan Dame Christie dalam menulis cerita misteri. Dikasih banyak red herring sampai - sampai gue ragu sama kemampuan deduksi sendiri dan cuma bisa tepok jidat pas Miss Marple bilang siapa pelakunya. I'll be like "ASTAGA!!" dan geleng - geleng kepala, karena ya sejelas itu sebenarnya hehehe. Beberapa hal yang menarik adalah seksisme yang luar biasa dari bbrp tokoh di buku ini, termasuk antara lain meremehkan kemampuan Miss Marple dan memanggilnya "perawan tua". Ya, mengingat novel ini ditulis tahun 1930, masa - masa itu memang sikap seksis dan misoginis memang kentara.

Jujur secara personalitas, gue sukaan Miss Marple ketimbang Hercule Poirot. Mungkin karena gue dan Miss Marple itu sama2 perempuan yang juga hobi bergosip dan kepoan, walau masih lebih tajam sikap keponya Miss Marple. Pastinya akan baca buku2 Miss Marple lainnya dong :D.