AtaraxiaAfter several months of reading, I finally decided to dive into the third adventure of the crime fiction lovers—and unfortunately, it’s far from being my favorite… Even though volumes 1 and 2 were delightful to read, volume 3 was a bit of a disappointment for me. In fact, the reason it took me so long to talk about it is because the summary didn’t really appeal to me. Death Under the Stars is probably the least captivating novel I’ve read by C.A. Larmer. That said, the book is still readable and the investigation remains engaging, but I found the story less interesting overall, and Death Under the Stars ranks last among C.A. Larmer’s books for me.
Death Under the Stars – What’s it about?
For once, no locked-room mystery or mysterious disappearance. Death Under the Stars is, as the name suggests, about an outdoor murder. And that’s actually what makes the story intriguing. The amateur crime book club decides to attend an outdoor film screening, but during the session, right next to them, a woman dies. When the movie ends and the club gets ready to leave, the body is discovered—and it’s quickly identified as a murder. The problem? Some of the witnesses have already left, and despite that, no one is able to say when or why the woman was killed. The crime book club calls in Inspector Jackson—Alicia’s boyfriend since volume 2—to lead the investigation, but it takes more than half the book before our Agatha Christie fans decide to get involved in the case.
An Entertaining but Disappointing Book
Unfortunately, I don’t think C.A. Larmer was at the top of her game with this book. While it’s still entertaining, I had a harder time reading it compared to the others (three days for this one, versus just one day each for the previous three books). Maybe you won’t agree with me, but personally, this book didn’t speak to me as much. For once, I found the investigation a bit all over the place, and even when the resolution comes, it’s not particularly convincing.
The investigation loses some of its meaning, and the appeal I might have had for the book just wasn’t as strong as it was for Murder on the SS Orient or volume 1 of this series.
Character Changes That Make No Sense (Warning: Spoilers)
Honestly, there’s something about the characters that bothers me. In volume 1, the author tried to portray Anders as the perfect white knight—with some baggage, sure—but always in a positive light: handsome, a doctor, intelligent, and so on. In volume 2, the differences between Alicia and Anders became more apparent, but this only made the doctor seem deeper and more complex. Instead of black or white, he became a nuanced shade of grey—subtle and intriguing. However, in this book, everything is set up to make us dislike Anders. Calm and grounded Anders, supposedly the most mature of the group, starts acting strangely and ends up being quite passive in this installment. He’s annoying every time he appears and ultimately leaves the book club. I find this shift in character portrayal disappointing and perhaps incomplete. I feel like he deserved better.
What’s Next Looks More Promising
For those who haven’t read the book and feel discouraged by my review: don’t worry. C.A. Larmer has already prepared a better book (actually two, at the time I’m writing this). The next book, And Then There Were Nine, promises to be a treat (to be honest, I’ve already read it and it’s my favorite—I’ll tell you all about it right here).
As for the latest release, Madame Wynter is Dead, due out in early 2025, I think it holds some big surprises. The goal of this latest book? Solve the mystery before the Agatha Christie book club does—which makes me think clues are scattered throughout the story.
I can’t wait to talk to you about volume 5, but in the meantime, I highly recommend reading volumes 3 and 4 of this truly captivating series. Even though my opinion of volume 3 isn’t the highest, I believe there’s something for everyone—and this third volume is far from bad, so I think you’ll still enjoy it.
With that, I hope you’ll enjoy reading another C.A. Larmer book, and I’ll see you soon for volume 4 of the Agatha Christie Book Club. And Finally if you want to buy Death under the stars you can find it just right here on Amazon.
