Book Reviews: An Affair to Dismember

 

Matchmaker, matchmaker, bring me a dream... But maybe leave out the murder. 

Gladie Burger has a very special calling. You could call it the family business, but all Burger women have the gift of matchmaking. Though Gladie isn't so sure she's inherited her Grandma Zelda's skills when it comes to helping people fall in love. An Affair to Dismember has Elise Sax's usual humor and wit that comes off the page in waves thanks to her charming and larger-than-life characters. Sax has a way of blending humor, mystery, and murder that makes reading one of her books so much fun. Her stories are playful and don't take themselves too seriously which is perfect for reading for the sake of enjoyment, relaxing, and would go great with a cup of tea.

An Affair to Dismember has a variety of characters that have larger-than-life personalities that give eccentricity and exuberance to the story. Sax offers a variety of characters such as Grandma Zelda and Bridget, who are two women that you never know what to expect out of their mouths. Their lines were often offbeat and humorous which showed their personalities to a T. Grandma Zelda was the sort that was a guide for Gladie to encourage and steer her onto her path while also be a source of slight embarrassment with comments about her love life. Though as we got to know these exuberant and delightful women, we found the police chief to possess a great deal of cockiness and ego. His dialogue often served his character well with the amount of ego and attitude that went into each word. His character gave Gladie a sense of frustration as she tried to navigate this path of destiny while also investigating a murder. Dialogue is Sax's best weapon in her stories with it serving the characters well and allowing you insight into their personalities by the way they talk such as Uncle Henry and his 1950s reminiscent way of speaking. 

Sax always offers a delightful array of characters in her books and this one is no different. They're well-written and are the sort that you would want to spend the day talking to. The author has a knack for dialogue that fits the characters and sets them apart easily from each other. While Gladie deals with murder and matchmaking, she's facing her own crisis of destiny in trying to determine if the family business is even for her. Her first match to make is with the neighbor that so happens to be a perfect match for herself and creates an inner conflict for her as she initially tries to steer herself away from any feelings. Every great mystery series is filled with romantic tension and a love interest that is charming. This story has both of those things with her neighbor being a suspect, a conflicted first match, and her love interest.

The pacing was fantastic as you never knew what was going to happen and nothing ever happened just as you'd guess. The story revolves around matchmaking and Grandma Zelda trying to help get Gladie onto the path of her destiny by pointing out to her at one point that she has matchmaking but maybe even something else, referring to what she considers to be an extra knowing. All in all, we greatly enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys lighthearted, humorous, and charming mysteries.