Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts in What's the Name of That Book???

Jul 10, 2020 thefourthvine rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, sff, urban-fantasy

This book is at the intersection of The Westing Game Road and Ghostbusters (2016) Lane, and since I love both those things (although I don’t think anyone anywhere doesn’t love The Westing Game), it makes sense that I also really enjoyed this. (If you haven’t read The Westing Game, read that, not this, by the way.) It’s a book about the mortifying ordeal of being known, about becoming who you were meant to be, about finding your people, your family, your life. And it’s also a book about a treasur ...more

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Nov 14, 2024 Sophia rated it liked it

Shelves: sff, borrowed, 2024

A lot of great elements and fun for 2/3 of the story but my word did it fall apart once the author started jamming in characters and plot near the end. Obvious deep homage to The Westing Game, which I appreciate more than ever now for being able to balance an ensemble cast, rotating narrators, and a mystery plot so cleanly. That said I would read something else by this author because there were a lot of lovely or fun passages even when they were a little out of place, just given that the main ch ...more

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Feb 25, 2024 Cait rated it it was ok

I think this book suffered a lot because I wanted to love it, but it missed the mark, and every little flaw grated on my nerves.

What I liked: Tuesday, herself was pretty OK. She is bright, but working a specific but lame job, not dealing with past trauma, and somewhere on the lonely-happy introvert spectrum. We both enjoy trivia, are roughly the same age, and are bright, but I don't think we'd actually get along (Book characters don't have to be likable, obvs, but I think she is supposed to be) I think this book suffered a lot because I wanted to love it, but it missed the mark, and every little flaw grated on my nerves.

What I liked: Tuesday, herself was pretty OK. She is bright, but working a specific but lame job, not dealing with past trauma, and somewhere on the lonely-happy introvert spectrum. We both enjoy trivia, are roughly the same age, and are bright, but I don't think we'd actually get along (Book characters don't have to be likable, obvs, but I think she is supposed to be). I liked that she owned her mistakes (I found her particular mistake ... not ok- but it was not treated as ok by the book so?) I liked Dory! I liked Ned! I liked the idea of a mystery-heist book! I liked the lampshading of one of the major plot holes (genuinely- I thought the time of death was a clever mis-re-direct).

What was frustrating: grief doesn't have a timeline, but I did find it frustrating that a modern, middle-class, urban, educated woman wouldn't have sought out some therapy about it. (And also that her parents wouldn't have set her up as a kid, especially after the thing with the police station!) The mystery-heist was pretty lame. The clues were kind of laughably easy- especially with the internet. Also the treasure hunt had a total of three clues/locations (the subway, the theater, the funeral)- I wish it had been more. I wish the figuring out of the clues had happened on the page. I wanted more people discussing plans around a whiteboard! I thought it was bizarre that no one cheated, and no one posted the letter online. I thought the mix of people brought to the haunted house were too pat. I thought the reveal of the prize was awkward (this place is falling down juuuuuuuust enough to reveal what I want you to find without any structural damage to what I want you to find- this is not how old buildings work!)

What I hated: The brothers (and the sister) were the lamest of lamesauces and belonged in a different story. Tuesday's mistake was worthy of firing, and I'm glad she was fired, but WOOF, I lost a lot of sympathy for her there.
But the big thing is the magical realism/inclusion of ghosts. Look, I love fantasy, I don't object to the inclusion of fantastic elements. And I was raised in Latin America, and am deeply familiar with the magical realism of fantastic elements in everyday settings. But this magic/ghost bit did not work for me at all in this book. Why include it? I would have preferred the book with no ghost at all, or just as part of the backstory, but I also would have accepted the ghost as her teammate- like if we're doing ghost stuff, let's do some ghost stuff.
Lastly: much of this book is a loving portrait of Summerville/Boston- TURNS OUT I am still harboring a grudge against Boston, and reading those passages felt like sitting through dinner with someone raving about how awesome they think your scumbag ex is. UGH. ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: old-reads, mt-bookpile-2016-2020

A treasure hunt set in Somerville/Boston is so right up my alley. And then there's Tuesday, who could be me in another life. We never really learn why she is the way she is, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that she's smart and her sense of humor is so wonderfully quirky (example? she calls her neighbor "Next Dorry"). It would have been nice had the treasure hunt itself been a little more complex and gone on longer rather than the two or three clues we get. There's another mystery here, wi ...more

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Oct 12, 2020 Melinda Worfolk marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: women-authors, fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller, fantasy

I think I like the concept of Kate Racculia’s books more than the execution. This is the second time I’ve picked up this audiobook, and it’s still not doing it for me. Time to let it go....

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