4.0
Sinta, Sorceress-Detective
ByPublisher Description
A magical murder mystery, complete with medieval mayhem!
Poison in the prince's pork tenderloin claims the life of his hapless taster. A dagger to the heart slays the sleeping court sorcerer, tasked to investigate. With courtiers seemingly falling like ninepins, the prince's chancellor turns to Mistress Sinta, a gifted freelance sorceress, to assume the role of detective.
With the aid of Sir Othir, her dashing man-at-arms, Sinta plunges into the murk of the princely court, where—while enjoying some tasty meals—she soon finds that spells alone will not uncover the answers she seeks.
Can our inquisitive young heroine crack the case before herself falling victim to the killer?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesSinta, Sorceress-Detective Reviews
4.0
“I was absolutely thrilled to receive a free copy of the third book in the Tales of Ondiran series and made time today to set myself aside with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Now, I will admit to always wanting more when it comes to novella's of such comedic excellence, but in this case, it was just a smidgy smidge less then I was accustomed to, but still a satisfying read
Sinta is a gem, a firecracker, a sassy little sausage and no mistake. Talking of all things porcine, I will admit to a few snorting chuckles at the primary murder weapon levied against the prince which i proceeded to try and say out loud without erupting into giggles. Once I had composed myself, I continued into another adventure with Sinta, but this time, more of a cozy murder mystery vibe, and of course I am absolutely riveted
Swift has a wondrous grasp of vernacular and timing and the dialogue contains some absolute screamers of wry humour and dry wit. The book is full to bursting and a fantastic read. I enjoyed that it was dialogue-driven and I feel that it is a novella that is a piece of a jigsaw, Sinta developing particular skills in each book, different characters developing step by step.
It is a fab novella and a good, fun read. Eagerly waiting for more from Ondiran
This ARC was very kindly gifted to me and I leave this review of my own volition”
“I received an advance reader copy of Sinta, Sorceress Detective for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Tales from Ondiran novellas all present a slyly humorous fantasy world seen through the eyes of the young sorceress, Sinta. The author guides readers through the stories, deftly building humorous moments that build to the punchline, then bringing them home, while turning fantasy tropes on their head. With "Detective" in the title, Sinta, Sorceress-Detective continues this approach while also playing with mystery tropes.
In splitting the story into different genres, the book has less space to focus on either one. It doesn’t trade as heavily on its world, and in doing so, doesn’t feel as refreshing as the previous books. It’s still the same Ondiran that readers will know and love, but it feels like less of a character this time. Although the mystery element use much of the space that would otherwise be dedicated to the fantastical elements, it doesn’t build a deep mystery, instead playing like a cosy mystery.
The biggest reason these elements don’t come together is the book’s length. While similar lengths work perfectly for the first two books, it deprives this one of additional space it could have used to make these elements stand out.
Likewise, the length doesn’t help its plot. While the earlier books’ length were enough to tell their stories, this doesn’t allow for twists and turns. Instead, the primary focus is on Sinta interviewing suspects. It allows for the book to be read quickly without overstaying its welcome, but more of it would have benefitted the overall story. While many cosy mysteries are novellas of similar lengths, they aren’t usually built around comedy, and don’t have punchlines they’re building towards.
When humour plays such a pivotal role in a book, its plot only accounts for so much. The humour is as strong as its predecessort, and the prose oozes humour through its every sentence. The writing is clean and crisp, and although the prose is more verbose than most novellas, it’s in service of the humour. The jokes flow freely and build upon each other well. As with the other books, each chapter is introduced with a passage from in-universe books, adding more humour and colour to the tale.
The dialogue also constantly delights. While the blending of fantasy and mystery tropes interfere with the story, the dialogue fits with both genres. The characters both sound as though they stepped out of an epic fantasy and a whodunnit. The dialogue blends fantasy and contemporary stylings for a sound that is unmistakably from the Tales of Ondiran. The conversations and interrogations flow together elegantly, sounding natural while dripping with comedic value.
The book's characters aren’t deep; not even Sinta, who's been explored in two previous books. They don’t need to be deep to work well, and the novella is a wonderful example of how to keep characters light without making them less engaging. Each character is a delight to follow, bringing levity with them while contributing to the story.
Each book in the series is free-standing. They are designed to be read independently of each other, in any order. While this limits the protagonist’s ongoing character arc and growth, it doesn’t destroy it. Readers returning from the first two books will see some reward for reading from the beginning, but readers jumping in without having read the first two will feel at home.
Sinta, Sorceress-Detective is the first book in the series that suffers from its low page count. But Tales of Ondiran’s primary focus has never been on its genre or its plot, but the humour. Whether it’s through the prose, the dialogue, or its characters, this humour leaps from the page.
My full review is available on my website. To read it, and a host of other reviews, including
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195402065.The_Eye_of_Ksera
and
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200838214.Sorceress_for_Hire__Tales_from_Ondiran___fantasy_humor_series_
, click https://wastanley.com/reviews/ .”
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