No One Leaves The Castle by Christopher Healy - Blog Tour
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest book by Christopher Healy. I was so excited to get an early copy of this book so I could share my thoughts with you!
Check out this summary from the publisher:
Agatha Christie meets the Brothers Grimm in an unexpected, hilarious, and wholly original new fantasy-mystery from the beloved author of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
The Lilac. The bard songs say that she’s the world’s most fearsome bounty hunter. That there’s no criminal she can’t catch, no mystery she can’t solve.
None of that is true. Yet.
In reality, the Lilac is just a kid, and the bard who wrote all that is her best friend, Dulcinetta. But when a priceless artifact goes missing from the home of famed monster hunter Baron Angbar, the Lilac and Netta see their chance to apprehend the thief and make a name for themselves.
When they get to Castle Angbar, however, and meet the Angbar family and their servants and guests—an unsavory group of nobles, mages, and assorted creatures, each more shady than the last—the Lilac begins to wonder if the reward is worth the trouble.
And that’s before the dead body is discovered.
Now everyone is magically sealed inside the castle—and there is a murderer among then. If the Lilac wants to make it out with her reputation intact, it’s going to be up to her to figure out who the killer is. But everyone in the castle—even the Lilac herself—has secrets to hide, and as the walls literally start to close in around them, the Lilac worries that her first job as a bounty hunter may be her last….
My Thoughts:
Okay, it’s true confessions time. When I was in middle and high school I devoured Agatha Christie novels. There was just something about having to pay such close attention to every little thing that MIGHT be an important clue that I found delicious and exciting. Did I ever figure out “who dun it?” Ummmm. Once. But the endings were so satisfying. So when I was asked if I wanted to share thoughts on a Christopher Healy murder mystery I didn’t have to stop and think before giving a resounding YES!
No One Leaves the Castle gave me exactly what I was hoping for - a riotously funny murder mystery with magic!
Murder Mystery -
Healy gave me all the elements I need in a great mystery. Just like one of my fav Agatha Christie stories - And Then There Were None - we are introduced to a small cast of characters that are stranded together. The more we learn about each of them, the more we are convinced that ANYONE could be the culprit. I loved all the sly, yet funny clues we learned along the way. Any time I thought to myself "okay, that person absolutely could not be be responsible", along came another clue that made me second guess myself. Perfection.
No One Leaves the Castle gave me exactly what I was hoping for - a riotously funny murder mystery with magic!
Murder Mystery -
Healy gave me all the elements I need in a great mystery. Just like one of my fav Agatha Christie stories - And Then There Were None - we are introduced to a small cast of characters that are stranded together. The more we learn about each of them, the more we are convinced that ANYONE could be the culprit. I loved all the sly, yet funny clues we learned along the way. Any time I thought to myself "okay, that person absolutely could not be be responsible", along came another clue that made me second guess myself. Perfection.
Humor and Magic -
Agatha Christie has some light humor in her books, but she's got nothing on Christopher Healy. When I sit down with one of Healy's books, I know I'm going to snort, chuckle, and guffaw. I absolutely adored the occasional snarky side comments by the narrator. Each character gave me some funny moments. This lightheartedness in a murder mystery makes it a great way to introduce the genre to younger readers!
Agatha Christie has some light humor in her books, but she's got nothing on Christopher Healy. When I sit down with one of Healy's books, I know I'm going to snort, chuckle, and guffaw. I absolutely adored the occasional snarky side comments by the narrator. Each character gave me some funny moments. This lightheartedness in a murder mystery makes it a great way to introduce the genre to younger readers!
Another great feature that makes this a good starter mystery are the magic/fantasy elements. So if you have readers who devour fantasy but are reluctant to dive into mysteries, give this a try!
Other Books
I've enjoyed every book of Healy's that I've read. The Hero's Guide books were so much fun! I got to post on my blog about the first book in A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem series AND got a Q&A session with Christopher Healy. You can read those posts here. I've included some great nonfiction connections in the first post as well.
http://www.mariaselke.com/2018/09/a-perilous-journey-of-danger-mayhem.html
http://www.mariaselke.com/2018/10/perilous-journey-q-with-christopher.html
Christopher Healy is the author of the New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and its sequels, as well as the Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem series. Before becoming a writer, Chris worked as an actor, an ad copywriter, a toy-store display designer, a fact-checker, a dishwasher, a journalist, a costume shop clothing stitcher, a children’s entertainment reviewer, and a haunted house zombie. He lives with his family in New Jersey. You can visit him online at christopherhealy.com
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