Some Background
Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective by Katie Siegel tells the story of a twenty-something who well, was a detective. There’s more to it but before I dive in, let me give a caveat. Only one degree separates me from the author. I’ve never met her but she’s friends with my daughter’s best friend. Follow that? Anyway, make of that what you will. I think it’s cool that somone from our local high school is a published author.
The premise of Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective is that Charlotte, now post college twenty-something, was once a child detective alla Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children. Now she’s grown and trying to figure out her life and the last thing she wants to do is be a detective.
Yet Charlotte can’t help being who she is. When her brother’s girlfriend receives some creepy post it notes left on the brother’s front door, Charlotte is drawn into solving a mystery. Through it, we get to meet her brother, his girlfriend and Charlotte’s two besties.
My Thoughts
I liked this Scooby Gang of interesting and diverse characters. To me they’re the heart of the story. Having the aforementioned twenty-something year old daughter, it’s interesting and eye-opening getting that generation’s perspective. They’re not perfect. They mess up but we should all be able to relate. I enjoyed spending time in their world.
To be fair there are some issues with the story too.
Lets face it. The premise of a famous child detective who solves mysteries professionals cannot, is a hard premise to swallow. Swallow it anyway. Once you get passed that premise, there’s enough meat on the bones of this book, that if this is the first in a series, I’d continue with it.
Also, there’s some repetitiveness in the story. For example, the story hammers home Charlotte’s angst about not wanting to do what comes naturally to her, detect. It also dwells a bit too much on the rift between Charlotte and her friends. I blame the editing for that.
Lastly, let’s not use fictional towns or settings. If we’re going to ride NJ Transit and spend time in Manhattan, use real NJ town and city names too. Janet Evanovich does it. It always gives me a kick when we visit Quakerbridge Mall with Stephanie Plum. Let’s put Charlotte in some real NJ locations. I think it adds a bit of fun for readers. It will at least for me.
Final Thoughts
Is Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective great literature? No but it’s not meant to be. It’s a fast-paced cozy mystery featuring a young and diverse group of characters who I wouldn’t mind joining again in another story. I give it 3.5 stars, which is pretty darn good for the first book of a mystery series.