Seems to be trying for a 30's mystery vibe. Renee Stone is a mystery writer in Ethiopia to see the coronation of Haile Selassie. While there she and a new friend stumble upon some kind of mystery. This really wasn't very interesting and Stone was vapid and shallow. The interior art wasn't as good as the cover either.

The summary on this one sounded exciting: a female mystery novelist in 1930s Ethiopia finds herself caught up in a real murder and archaeological mysteries? Sign me up! Unfortunately, the description was far more exciting than the actual book and I was left confused as to why the series is named for Renée Stone as she's such a minor character. At least the art was good.

Received via NetGalley.

"Ah! Crime and mystery, treachery and antiques; We'll make a great book out of it."

And so says one of the many supporting characters in this slippery and sometimes maddening tale. We are all in Ethiopia, we all have complex secrets and backstories; none of us can be trusted, and we all are searching for an ancient priceless macguffin.

Our heroine, Renee Stone, is a novelist who can't decide if she's a delicate flower or a woman of action. Her affections are up for grabs. Hero one, John Malowan, is a classic English figure - is he a completely weak and lame academic, or is there a hero of sorts within? Hero two, Alfred Theziger, (who appears to be based in a jokey fashion on the real British explorer of that time and place, Wilfred Thesiger), is the other side of the coin - he's a two-fisted man of action, but will he fold in a pinch and/or turn traitor? Apart from the late innings treasure hunt, this is the primary tension that moves the story.

The book is a bit frustrating because it takes a while to lay the groundwork, to get everyone in place, and to get the macguffin into play. What held my interest at the outset, before we got going, was the various characters' travels through Abyssinia as they made their way to Haile Selassie's coronation. It is once they are all assembled in Addis-Abeba that the mystery begins. It is also the point at which most of the characters reach peak exasperating levels. Is Renee a modern heroine, or is she just being swept along for the ride? Is Malowan as dim and spineless as he sometimes appears? Why is Theziger even in the story; to make the only love triangle in which none of the participants are trying very hard?

At bottom this was more of an historical walkabout than a mystery or a thriller. That was actually fine by me because the Abyssinian setting and the era, coupled with a fair degree of travelogue monologuing by the characters, made the read fairly interesting. But this isn't Indiana Jones, and is at best minor Agatha Christie.

The art is also a bit frustrating. We are in the desert in 1930, and so everything is colored to be a bit on the brown, beige, and bland side. I get that. The pencils and inking are old-fashioned, but this works as an artistic choice, suits the material, and keeps the panels crisp. The frustrating part was that sometimes care was taken to make the characters convincing and expressive, and sometimes the same characters, in other panels, were vague and poorly drafted. I got used to this, and the good very much outweighed the bad, but it did make the sequential flow of the graphic narrative a bit jerky.

So, this was interesting and, while it felt slow in places, a quick read. The book is set up for a sequel featuring Stone and Malowan, but I'm not sure I'll be signing on. (Please note that I had a chance to read a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

DNF

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Murder in Abyssinia: A Renee Stone Adventure, by Julie Birmant and Clement Oubrerie
★☆☆☆☆
64 Pages
Content Warning:


Great attention to detail. Gorgeous illustrations/graphics.
Unfortunately, the story itself was all over the place. Transitions were lacking, the events were uninteresting and without purpose. Half of the conversations were pointless or difficult to follow because they made little sense.
I think this is one story that doesn't translate well to a comic/graphic novel.

I liked the art, and I liked the concept for this story, but the execution left something to be desired. The characters felt very underdeveloped, so it was difficult to understand any of their motivations. I also struggled to follow the mystery itself. Overall, it was okay. It might be an enjoyable read for fans of graphic novels, but it's definitely not a great jumping off point.

I was surprised Renee Stone was the title character for this comic, for she hardly gets to do anything; her level of agency is too low. Plus she's supposed to be a derring-do woman of society, who can't realise Thesiger is gay even while she falls in lust with him. Or is he? - this bizarre conjunction of fantasy and semi-real people changes Ernest for another first name, so who's to say how the real life parallels are supposed to be seen? Either way, this really didn't work very well – talkative, with weird characters in weird situations caused by a lengthy and uninteresting backstory regarding a weird MacGuffin, and surprisingly uncritical of colonialism. I'll not be returning.

'Renee Stone Vol. 1: Murder in Abyssinia' by Birmant Julie with illustrations by Oubrerie Clement is a historical mystery graphic novel.

Renee Stone writes mystery novel, but finds herself in one in Ethiopia that involves missing artifacts and missing people. Her companions on the journey are a soldier, an archaeologist and another novelist. Motives twist and turn as the story goes.

I liked the concept of this more than the execution. I wanted Renee Stone to be a stronger character, but she is just kind of swept along for the ride. The character motivations constantly changing seemed confusing too. I don't understand how the protagonist would continue to trust people. The art and lettering were a bit on the weak side too. I did like the historical notes at the end, and I do believe some good research was done on this graphic novel.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I struggled to find the words for this review, somewhere in that limbo between not-really like and not-quite dislike. When I first read its description, I was instantly interested. It seemed like it would be a classic whodunit with an archeological twist set in colonial-era Ethiopia. The female lead, Renée Stone, is described as an independent and successful novelist, free-spirited and “modern”. She visits the African continent for the coronation of Haile Selassie I; there, she meets John Malowan, an awkward, nerdy archeologist and epigraphist. This, we are told, will be the start of an adventure.

“René Stone: Murder in Abyssinia” promised murder and mystery, as a host of characters tried to use or outrun the leading pair in their search for a hidden treasure that could be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia.

As I read the novel, however, my interest waned. The one murder there is gets solved too quickly, and the mystery felt diluted by a convoluted love-triangle between Stone, Malowan and Malowan’s childhood friend —an intrepid, handsome adventurer that only seems to be interested in his next exploit. I believe love triangles extremely overused in general, but I know they can work. Here, however, it left me wholly unsatisfied. Stone spent three quarters of the book chasing an uninterested man, busy ogling him while important sequences took place. She’s free to do this, but the actions were at odds with her description. Malowan, for his part, acted entitled to her attraction. Instantly smitten, he expected the same from her, but there was something off-putting about his “please like me” attitude. It wasn’t charming.

Despite this, the setting was fascinating, a window into a complicated past. As mentioned above, the story takes place during the coronation of the last emperor. The characters move across Ethiopia, stopping in Harar then rushing towards Lalibela, meeting characters of diverse nationalities and religions. The plot was darker than I expected, too —vicious and mean, with endless scheming; this was refreshing. But there was an undercurrent of European-superiority that worried me, with the Europeans often complaining about this foreign land being barbaric and strange, unlike their civilized London. This is what many believed back then, without doubt. But creators writing and drawing in the present must be careful not to perpetuate these ideals with too much authority. It is quite easy, after all, to make a caricature out of a whole continent.

If, unlike me, you can overlook these issues, and are interested in a slow-paced adventure in a captivating setting, you should give it a try. It does feel perfect for fans of ancient history and archeology. And it seems, judging the last few pages, that the second volume will pick up the pace, as this one ends when the real adventure begins.

Unfortunately I didn't really get much out of this graphic novel, it sounded like a kind of mystery/Indiana Jones type thing with a female lead and that sounded interesting but I mainly just found this confusing and hard to get my head around, I'm still not really sure who the "good guys" and "bad guys" were, and there wasn't really much of a mystery element to it, Renee Stone (the lead) doesn't really seem to do much and I don't know if the story would have been very different if she hadn't been there at all. The art was generally quite confusing too, I couldn't really tell some of the characters apart because the way they were drawn was kind of vague, and the art wasn't really aesthetically pleasing to me either. The premise was interesting and I like the historical aspect (you get a page at the end telling you about the historical time period and the places and people mentioned so that was useful) but it just didn't deliver what I was expecting.

This book follows Renée Stone, a successful English mystery novelist. This is the first book of the series, set in 1930 and Stone finds herself in Ethiopia for the coronation of Haile Selassie I.

This book was ok, but that it. I enjoyed the mystery element of this story and the illustrations were satisfactory but besides that, I don't think there is much more to this comic book.

The main character is supposed to be an independent woman (which doesn't sound very 30's to me but I'd be okay with that) however she does not come across like that at all. Renée spends a big chunk of the novel lusting over one of the male characters and most of the time she waits for them to decide what to do, I would be okay (mind the book is set during the 30s) if this if she wasn't described as "modern for her time" type of woman. For me, the lack of a tied up conclusion didn't really suit the story.

For someone who loves a mystery, and doesn't mind any of the cons I stated above, this is an enjoyable book.

https://icthusbookcorner.wordpress.com/2019/03/07/renee-stone-murder-in-abyssinia-by-birmant-julie-book-review only available starting on the 7th of march

I love this subject and location for crime thriller. The comic book format also was a bonus for delivering this mysterious story. Generally, I also appreciate the range of titles and cultural mix of the stories brought to publication by Europe comics, where English was not the original language.
I have never been disappointed by any their graphic novels and some have been really interesting at times life affirming works.
Renée Stone is a perfect character for this tale of dark deeds and a trouble history in Abyssinia, modern day Ethiopia. However, I found the various back stories and character agendas very hard to follow and the jumping between subject made for a disjointed narrative.
I think it would make for better reading on a second or third reading and that again is the benefit of this format. The illustrations capture a sense of time and place which enhances to plot and locations; the lepers were cleverly drawn to add to a sense of menace and impending threat.
I also liked the implications of British government interference that undermined the local situation and had a sense of military intervention which has similarities in more modern history.
That items from archaeology were considered ever 'finders keepers' is also a previous scandal, imperialistic governments rarely acknowledged and is relevant still.
It is a story worth reading and is interesting throughout; it is also ongoing as this instalment is only volume one. I certainly would wish to read on in regard to this story.
What is also invaluable is a historical account of the major players and figures mentioned here, a map setting the scene and at the end placing the locations around this vast country adds to the reader's understanding and pleasure.

I was rather disappointed with this one. I was hoping for a murder mystery with a strong female lead. Sadly Miss Stone spends most of her time drooling over some hunky dude. The story didn‘t pull me in either and the ending is rather abrupt. The illustration style sadly wasn‘t my cup of tea either. Won‘t be picking up Vol 2.

I’m not sure what I expected from Renée Stone, but the story fell flat and left me indifferent about continuing the series.

Though she takes center stage on the cover, Renée takes a backseat to John Malowan, the bumbling archeologist over her shoulder. Neither character resonated with me with the disparity between the story purported by the jacket and that which unfolds between its pages left me confused and miffed.

There's so much to love about this book! The art is beautiful and creates such a strong sense of place. The color palette does a wonderful job of setting the tone and recreating the feel of old photographs—but with the life and warmth of illustration. I thoroughly enjoyed Renée, our heroine. Smart and sassy! (Also, my best friend when I was growing up was Renee, and she is an archeologist now; I kept thinking of her as I read this story.)

This was a fantastic, fun way to learn about history and get lost in a compelling mystery story.

The story here is almost noir, though set in the wrong time period, as it takes place in British Colonial Africa.
It's billed as the story of a strong, independent woman too modern for her time, but Renee Stone is actually kind of exasperating because she doesn't DO anything. In fact she spends most of the novel lusting after a hunky blonde guy and ignoring the passes launched at her by the nerdy archaeologist who is the actual protagonist.
It all adds up to a kind of boring story, that should have been an interesting tale of murder, espionage and treasure.

While I enjoy historical fiction mysteries, this book was just ok. I don't know if it was the graphic novel format, which I do like, or the lack of a tied up conclusion. I do not plan on reading any follow-up books in this series.

Murder in Abyssinia is a classic action adventure story in the same vein as Indiana Jones, following a group of British citizens abroad as they get themselves embroiled in a scandal deep in Ethiopia. There’s murder and intrigue, hidden agendas, and an ancient artifact whose importance is immeasurable. The overarching societal events are all based in history, adding an air of reality to the narrative.

Overall, I found the story interesting. It unfolded slowly, until the explosive cliffhanger that will no doubt lead into the second novel. None of the loose ends were tied up, leaving a lot up in the air for the fate of the characters. Though somewhat frustrating, I found it to mirror classic serialized mystery and adventure stories.

The art style was influenced by an older style of comic books and paid great attention to the cultural details of the various cities and the coronation itself. There’s a lot of history enclosed in this short graphic novel and the artifacts themselves were done well. I was especially impressed with the final page and its use of shadowing mixed with the night sky and the wildlife.

Overall, Murder in Abyssinia is the start of what I’m sure will be a fascinating series. The characters were intriguing and the story itself hints at a much larger mystery that’s yet to unfold.

This review will be published on 2/14/19: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/02/14/murder-in-abyssinia-book-review

tl:dr: 1930's Egypt is the site of a mystery solved by a plucky woman.

Review:
I wasn't sure if I could give feedback on this title. I am pretty torn about the book. The storyline is tight and the characters interesting. But, there is an underlying colonialist attitude that I just couldn't appreciate. While Agatha Christie's stories in the middle east were written during the colonial era, newer books can't gloss over colonialism. I was also ambivalent about the illustrations. My eye has certainly become more attuned to a cleaner look, and that is my bias. The drawings seem to be recalling the illustrations of that era, with an emotive use of chiaroscuro. Some panes are truly poetic. Others look somewhat naive.

For someone who loves a mystery, and doesn't worry about subtext, this is an enjoyable book.

Thanks to Netgalley for a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a review copy of this book.

This is a graphic novel and first in series featuring Renée Stone, author of detective fiction, who arrives in Ethiopia (then, Abyssinia) along with a number of other “hand-picked Europeans” in October 1930 to witness the coronation of the last Emperor Haile Selassie I. As she is getting off the train after a twenty-hour journey, she meets archaeologist-epigraphist John Malowan, who is immediately smitten by her. She herself is interested in his friend/travelling companion, Theziger, a dashing explorer. Once there, she also bumps into a critic and author Graham Gray (obviously, a play on Graham Greene, even down to his book “No Reply from Istanbul”), who seems to enjoy bringing up the more painful aspects of her life. Meanwhile, John takes her to meet his family (who think she is his wife), and there she is given a Mesopotamian cylinder, belonging to John’s grandfather, Hormuzd Rassam, also an archaeologist. This is just the beginning of an adventure as it is soon clear that there are some sinister elements after John, to do with his family and especially his father, who seems to have been a smuggler/dealer in artefacts. This takes them to an elephant sanctuary and to Lalibela, where at 8,200 feet above sea level, a replica of Jerusalem had been built, and puts them in a situation where they do not know whom to trust. With John being quite a scatterbrain, it is up to Renée to take charge and get them to safety.

I chose to read this one since the description made it sound very much like the characters were based (loosely) on Agatha Christie and Max Mallowan, a successful detective novelist and an archaeologist coming together to solve a mystery. While I was expecting this to be somewhat of a whodunit, it didn’t turn out to be one, but was more on the lines of a thriller of sorts in an archaeological setting, with elements of mystery and murder. I liked that the book incorporates a real historical event, the coronation of Haile Selassie and historical characters—Hormuzd Rassam was real, and I also enjoyed learning about Lalibela, also a real location. The concept of the story was interesting, and I liked (as I usually do) the archaeology setting, and the fact that this turns into a quest for a lost treasure (which will continue in the next volume). Also, I liked how the book based its characters on Christie and her Husband and brings in Graham Greene (though I don’t think there’s more than a basic similarity). While I found the story enjoyable, it (and the characters) somehow didn’t grab me as much as I had thought from the description that they would. Still, this was a quick read with a subject and setting that I enjoy, and the fact that the next leg of the adventure will take us to Mesopotamia, certainly makes me want to pick up the next volume.