panWell, I finished it. The covert sexism faded into background noise (these women are UNATTRACTIVE and that is FUNNY, get it?). So I was somehow surprised by the sudden appearance of South-Africa-in-the-90s inspired racism near the end. Also, the author, per his note, apparently thinks breaking genre rules in boring ways is the same as satirizing a genre. Lol, no.
But hey. I finished it.
Oof. This is supposed to be my fun read before diving into something heavier. At 23 pages, I have been introduced to several harridans, ditzes, a man who felt driven to the pub by his materialist wife (an outlook he judges, but feels bad about not providing for), and a general dismissive view of women in fandom/how women do fandom.
pickA delightful, madcap murder mystery set at a fan-con for a fictional English crime writer with a Phrynne Fisher-esque 1920s amateur detective. Colgan gleefully breaks all the “rules” of crime writing and name drops all sorts of mystery-related Easter eggs, including Midsomer Murders (and you‘ll find the retired DS Shunter a bit of an analog to Tom Barnaby, my favorite dad-detective, though with less of John Nettles‘s panache). Book 5 done #24in48
pickSometimes you just need a quick, fun, jolly read. And what's more fun and jolly than a good old murder?
A Murder to Die For | 
