I love the characters; the cozy based-on-a-true-story mysteries are generally interesting; the parallel human/animal/Beatrix Potter material has so much potential. Yet so much of each book is spent repeating the back story for it all (telling rather than showing) in a narrator's voice that is more than a little condescending (meant to mimic that of Potter's children's stories, I presume) that I found myself flipping through to find the original bits and learn how it's all resolved rather than leaning back and immersing myself in the story. Never having read anything by or about Beatrix Potter before, I didn't know what to expect and have no frame of reference. This story is part of a continuing story, so you have to read the whole series - which is off-putting. I'm assuming that many of the things mentioned in the story about Ms. Potter are factual, which made it nicely biographical. I didn't even mind the talking animals and the dragon, being a fan of science fiction/fantasy. But the cutesy-wootsie, coy, snooty attitudes and language were a deal-breaker for me. I gave it three stars though because it was very well-structured and grammatically sound.
I really do enjoy these soft mysteries with Beatrix Potter and the animal characters.
—goggle
As always, this is a gentle read. I could not put it down and enjoyed it very much.
—Anduril
Great except for too much on dragon thing for Beatrix Potter.
—myhollyhock
A thoroughly charming book, as usual in this series!
—Megan
This was a "fun" read. Loved the talking animals.
—yntums
