Review: Well Written
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
Format Reviewed:  KindleJust to get this out of the way:  No problems with formatting noted.  I read this on my Kindle Fire HD.  No noted grammar or punctuation issues.  If there were any, I was too engrossed in the story to notice.I was a bit dubious when it came to reading this book because it was described as a cozy.  I like cozies as in village stories or humorous mysteries.  I don't particular care for them when they involve recipes or knitting shops (unless of course the recipes have some imaginative use of strychnine or the homicidal knitting shop owner has unusual uses for various sizes of knitting needles.) While this novella is a cozy in the sense that the story downplays the violence, it isn't fluffy and woolly like too many books in that sub genre.As the view point character, Emily Castles, walks down a London street toward an extraordinary neighborhood Halloween/Guy Fawkes/Diwali party, I became struck by the author's cinematic eye for detail. The story unrolls with performances within performances. It is interesting to watch Emily make contact with people who had been her neighbors, but with whom until now she had only the most fleeting experience.There's not much use in detailing the plot, but it does involve a mystery.  I felt the story was more a vehicle for introducing Emily and her section of London although it is complete and satisfying.I don't usually read Novellas because I like a more in depth experience of a fictional world, but the author offered me a chance to read this book free and I'm glad I accepted.