Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Like others, I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room at the end. One thing I have learned about Ms. Penny's writing. You have to be willing to travel along the road of total ridiculousness and implausibility if you want to successfully navigate to the end of the book. Sometimes its OK because the overall story line is good. Sometimes (however) I just yell, "WHAT??" a lot. My first yelling event was book 2 or 3 when we were asked to blindly accept that a 12 year old girl gave her Mom excess caffeine so she would have a hot flash, pull off her gloves, touch a metal chair while standing in a puddle and be electrocuted. And you also have to accept that Ms. Penny will go on rants from time to time, sometimes lasting many pages, about things that leave you wondering, "What does this have to do with anything?" And the repetition! Yes we get that Gamache smells of sandalwood and rosewater. And Clara's hair, for heaven's sake. Despite the flaws, I have truly enjoyed some of the books. Loved the one set in Quebec City. Loved the past one with the shoot out at the end. But this was a total head-shaker. Worse than caffeine lady getting electrocuted by a lawn chair. What in the heck was all that nonsense about cosmic gardens, stone bunnies, muses, and asbestos? Sounds like an LSD trip to me. And the ending was so badly written. Peter really died of embarrassment. I really really want to love these books, but Ms. Penny has to meet me half-way. And please do something with Ruth's character other than making her a drunk duck woman. So much could be done with her. So bottom line, skip this one. Move on to the next. Don't throw the Kindle.