And Then They Were Doomed had a slow start, but it caught up after a while. It was also not the average cosy mystery with a fresh body and a related murder investigation. What I really liked about the book is Liz as a main character, especially as she was a Little Person and didn't put up with the crap and comments about being one. Another thing I really liked was the tribute to Agatha Christie in this book, especially And Then They Were None and Murder on the Orient Express.

Wow I never expected to get so engrossed in this book that I'd not be able to put it down! It started off a little slow (for me, anyway), but I blame that on me not having read the previous books. I'm sure some of it would have made a little more sense, but for the most part, I got up to date on Zoe's life and why she moved, etc. It was a pretty cool tribute to Agatha Christie the way that ten people were gathered for an Agatha Christie event at a rustic old lodge--and very convenient that it just happened to be raining and flooding the river which kept the event attendees from leaving. Zoe was so sure that her relatives (who felt like her mother had shamed them having her outside of marriage) were behind the whole seminar, and she was constantly trying to find clues to prove that. She was actually worried that they were gathered there to kill her.

From what I've read, I really like Zoe as a main character. She's tough and used to comments and insults on her being a Little Person, but she doesn't take lip from anyone--and she can dish it back out. The story was a bit darker than I'm used to, but I got so caught up in the book that I didn't even care that there wasn't a fresh murder being solved. I'm really intrigued now and want to go back and read the three previous books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

This is a series I have read before and I was thrilled to return to . Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher. My opinion is my own
I am a fan of Agatha Christie so I enjoyed this Christie theme book This was fourth in the series and a reader should benefit from reading the earlier in series . Zoe received a invitation to a webinar on Agatha Christie. Since she was writing a biography on that author, she looks forward to attending. As the event progressed the mystery deepens as atmospheric darker happenings occur. it is in a dark hunting lodge which adds a delicious edge to the story. They become stranded and soon random events occur to the attendees and clues abound as they all become suspicious of each other I loved the similarities to And Then There Were None!

This was such a fun mystery for Agatha Christie fans and those of us that love a cozy with a darker theme to the plot. The charcters were outstanding and well crafted to the plot. I loved the building of the suspense and how the author wrote the conclusion was very pleasing to this avid mystery fan, Very well done to the author !

And Then They Were Doomed is the 4th Little Library mystery by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli. Released 13th Aug by Crooked Lane, it's 323 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a difficult book to categorize and review. It's too dark and realistic to be a cozy mystery, has too little dramatic tension to be a thriller, and too frivolous to be a modern gritty mystery. The disparate plot threads don't seem to belong to the same book. The characters are generally annoying and I was yanked out of my suspension of disbelief literally every page by the weird (almost surreal) dialogue. The book is written in 3rd person but there's almost no insight or explanation behind the characters' motivations.

I enjoyed the Agatha Christie pastiche. For readers who have not yet read And Then There Were None , or Murder on the Orient Express , and intend to do so sometime, this book might not be a good fit because it spoils both books. This one can presumably be read as a standalone, the weird semi-surreal randomness of this book isn't due to lack of backstory, it's just really strange and random. Zoe Zola is a little person, and apparently, despite it never being mentioned in the earlier books, she's a Christie authority and is writing a biography. She has an extremely dysfunctional family who shunned her mother for being pregnant and producing a little person and have apparently kept up with Zoe and her late mother's whereabouts carefully enough over the years to continue harassing them by randomly sending black bordered death announcements. (Yes, really).

When Zoe gets an invitation to participate in a webinar on Agatha Christie, she agrees, despite the webinar location being in a remote B-horror-film hunting lodge in the middle of nowhere, and despite the black bordered invitation being ostensibly sent by one of her dangerously crazy relatives. (Yes, really). The setup, dialogue, and story honestly become less believable from there.

I can't say it was a pleasant read. This is the second book in the series for me and as of this moment, I'm not tempted to continue. In an aside, there is a very brief random mention of the whole little library concept in chapter 5, but that's it. It has no relevance to the plot at all.

Two and a half stars, rounded up for the Christie references. Very odd book.

And Then They Were Doomed is a fun little pastiche of Agatha Christie tales.

Zoe has a recently deceased mother who was ostracized by her entire family after giving birth without a husband in sight. Zoe is also a little person and a writer of author biographies. Since she is currently working on a book about Agatha Christie, she is not surprised to be invited to speak at a webinar series about her. She is surprised when she arrives there to a remote lodge stranded by a storm in the remote Michigan woods. No one is who they claim to be. The two people running the conference are named after Christie characters. There is a statue featuring children on the dining room table that slowly loses children as people disappear. What is really happening here and how can Zoe escape with the bridge flooded and the telephones not working?

And Then They Were Doomed is a fun ride through Christie lore. Both book plots and the author’s real life are called out in the plot. Zoe is a great character. I’m hoping to see more of her in subsequent tales. However, the unbelievable ending just ruined the book for me. Plus while frequently calling out Christie’s “overwriting” as a bad thing, this book is guilty of it too. Even with those flaws, the book is worth the read. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

“And Then They Were Doomed” is the fourth installment in “ A Little Library Mystery series” by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli. I don’t recommend reading this instalment as a standalone, as the back stories aren't as obvious as in some other books (unfortunately I hadn’t read previous books).

Zoe Zola is one of ten invitees to an Agatha Christie symposium. Tempers flare…and then there are nine. Can Jenny Weston save Zoe from murder on the Upper Peninsula?

Little Person author Zoe Zola believes that one of the unluckiest things in life is to receive an invitation—in the form of a letter edged in black—to an Agatha Christie symposium at an old Upper Peninsula hunting lodge. Her reluctance dissipates when she learns that the organizer is named Emily Brent—the name of a character poisoned by cyanide in Christie’s And Then There Were None.

As a dreary rain soaks the U.P., Zoe and nine other Christie scholars—each of whom bears a vague resemblance to one of the classic mystery novel’s characters—arrive at the lodge. At the opening night dinner, arguments flare over the experts’ discordant theories about Christie. Next morning, the guests find one particularly odious man has gone—whereabouts and reasons unknown. Such a coincidental resemblance to a work of fiction is surely impossible; therefore, it appears to be possible.

As the guests disappear, one by one, Zoe resolves to beat a hasty retreat—but her car won't start. She calls her friend, amateur sleuth/little librarian Jenny Weston, but Jenny will have to wait out a storm off Lake Superior before she can come to the rescue. If Zoe’s to stay alive to greet Jenny when she eventually arrives, she’ll have to draw on everything she knows about Agatha Christie’s devilish plots.

I had a hard time getting into this book in the beginning but overall it was okay. I am not sure if I will continue with this series or go back and read the previous 3 books.

I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A strange and stupid plot to make a very long and boring story. I can't see how anyone can be entertained by this. The only good thing is the cover.

Cozy fans and Agatha Christie fans will love this book. It's based on a conference of Christie experts being held in remote Upper Peninsula Michigan. Zoe Zola is invited and is very apprehensive about attending because of the envelope the invite arrived in. The story is a little gloomy and I couldn't really connect with Zoe. This is book 4 in the Little Library series and not my favorite. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

First I want to say thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read an arc of this book..

Ok where to start.. I loved how it was based around Agatha Christie and then there were nine, but not really. It was definitely a complex story with a hidden story line that you don’t see until the middle of the book. At first i thought well maybe the MC Zoe is paranoid due to injustices that were taken against her mother from her family. Whether I was wrong or not I won’t say you will have to read the book.but what I will say that the way that the story was written will keep you guessing.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Zoe Zola is one of ten invitees to an Agatha Christie symposium. Tempers flare…and then there are nine. Can Jenny Weston save Zoe from murder on the Upper Peninsula?

Little Person author Zoe Zola believes that one of the unluckiest things in life is to receive an invitation—in the form of a letter edged in black—to an Agatha Christie symposium at an old Upper Peninsula hunting lodge. Her reluctance dissipates when she learns that the organizer is named Emily Brent—the name of a character poisoned by cyanide in Christie’s And Then There Were None.

As a dreary rain soaks the U.P., Zoe and nine other Christie scholars—each of whom bears a vague resemblance to one of the classic mystery novel’s characters—arrive at the lodge. At the opening night dinner, arguments flare over the experts’ discordant theories about Christie. Next morning, the guests find one particularly odious man has gone—whereabouts and reasons unknown. Such a coincidental resemblance to a work of fiction is surely impossible; therefore, it appears to be possible.

As the guests disappear, one by one, Zoe resolves to beat a hasty retreat—but her car won't start. She calls her friend, amateur sleuth/little librarian Jenny Weston, but Jenny will have to wait out a storm off Lake Superior before she can come to the rescue. If Zoe’s to stay alive to greet Jenny when she eventually arrives, she’ll have to draw on everything she knows about Agatha Christie’s devilish plots in Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s fourth tantalizing Little Library mystery.

This was a very interesting storyline, though a little slow at times.

I've been a fan of this series because of the unique characters and the fact that it pulls on other books. This time out, Zoe has been invited to a webinar on Agatha Christie because she is, duh, writing a book about her. She's spooked by the black edge invitation but goes. Her concerns were well founded- there's some creepiness about who was invited and then, well, fans of Christie will likely divide on how wise it was for Buzzelli to base the mystery on her stories. Zoe eventually reaches out to Jenny, who is always a smart cookie. This isn't my favorite of the series and, in fact, might be a tougher go as a standalone because the back stories aren't as obvious as they could be. It also would have benefited from another copy edit. That said, I liked seeing more of Zoe. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm curious what's next for the Little Library.

While I love mysteries, this one didn't do much for me. It's very slow to start. I put it down and picked it up again several times just to get into it. I didn't care for any of the characters or the setting. I don't think I will read the first three in the series.

And Then They Were Doomed
(A Little Library Mystery #4)
by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Kindle Edition
Expected publication: October 8th 2019 by Crooked Lane Books


Goodreads synopsis:
Zoe Zola is one of ten invitees to an Agatha Christie symposium. Tempers flare…and then there are nine. Can Jenny Weston save Zoe from murder on the Upper Peninsula?

Little Person author Zoe Zola believes that one of the unluckiest things in life is to receive an invitation—in the form of a letter edged in black—to an Agatha Christie symposium at an old Upper Peninsula hunting lodge. Her reluctance dissipates when she learns that the organizer is named Emily Brent—the name of a character poisoned by cyanide in Christie’s And Then There Were None.

As a dreary rain soaks the U.P., Zoe and nine other Christie scholars—each of whom bears a vague resemblance to one of the classic mystery novel’s characters—arrive at the lodge. At the opening night dinner, arguments flare over the experts’ discordant theories about Christie. Next morning, the guests find one particularly odious man has gone—whereabouts and reasons unknown. Such a coincidental resemblance to a work of fiction is surely impossible; therefore, it appears to be possible.

As the guests disappear, one by one, Zoe resolves to beat a hasty retreat—but her car won't start. She calls her friend, amateur sleuth/little librarian Jenny Weston, but Jenny will have to wait out a storm off Lake Superior before she can come to the rescue. If Zoe’s to stay alive to greet Jenny when she eventually arrives, she’ll have to draw on everything she knows about Agatha Christie’s devilish plots in Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s fourth tantalizing Little Library mystery.

***

4 Stars

This is the fourth book in the Little Library Mystery series by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli.

First there were ten of them all meeting in a remote location to speak about their love of Agatha Christie. Strangely, some attendees have actual Christie character names like Emily Brent from And Then There Were None and Bella Webb from A Pale Horse. Zoe Zola had received her invitation edged in black which was a sign to her and her late mother that a death was approaching. Would it be her own? She doesn’t know what to expect, but due to her past she thinks this could be one big set up to get back at her for something her mother did long ago.

I had a hard time getting into this book in the beginning. I felt like I was missing something. Then I realized it was the fourth book in a series and it suddenly made sense to me. I was missing a huge back story… three books worth.

I am finding it a little bit of a stretch to believe that so many people dislike Zoe or her mother and go to such lengths to come after her. After twenty years you’d think most people would let go of some indiscretion that happened so long ago. It is not such a big deal any more considering the culture nowadays.

Back in my days of writing fan fiction there used to be a few people who tried to emulate the works of Christie. And Then They Were None was a particularly hard one to replicate. Not many had success doing it. Even though this is a combo of that story and Murder on the Orient Express, I am not sure this is completely successful either. I came away wondering why the ruse of it all? It didn’t really seem necessary. It felt like a whole bunch of work for little effect. The culmination could have probably happened days earlier and still been as successful as it was after five days. The ending just lost steam instead of building tension.

I realize this is part of a series of books yet the previous three seem to feature the librarian Jenny. It felt odd to change the focus. The whole thing with her and Tony probably could have been expanded in a different book. I felt that part of it was rushed and both of them seemed almost unnecessary to this plot.

I felt like the beginning was pretty confusing until I got about five chapters in. Then everything seemed to even out. There were a lot of characters to contend with and that alone was a challenge to keep up with especially when Zoe was trying to figure out why some of the names mirrored Christie characters so perfectly. The build up in the middle was good and the twist was unexpected at the end but I fear some will guess what is going on if they are a regular mystery reader.

Pretty good book. Not my favorite and its Christie leanings didn’t always work out but I found the story to satisfy even if it didn’t end with a flourish.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This was fourth in the book and quite a slow read as compared to my normal thrillers and cozy reads. It was the Agatha Christie theme which pulled me in.
Zoe received a black edged envelope which an invitation to a webinar on Agatha Christie. Since she was writing a biography on that author, Zoe decided to attend it. But then the book walked on the darker side with characters which were rather off.

My first book by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, this was a creepy tale to some extent. The author did create an atmosphere of Then There Were None but in a much darker manner. The characters added to the overall creepiness. One by one the characters disappear and Zoe investigated

There were a few subplots which didn't work for me. But the suspense created was fun, and the ending was a shocker.

Overall an okay read for me.

I was slow to get into the story but it turned out to be a pretty good story. What an awful family! They just seemed to hate on each other. But the Agatha Christie emphasis was creative and interesting. The ending was a surprise, setting a bit creeping and the characters were all sorts of weird. That Zoe was a dwarf really didn't play into the story other than a reason for family drama. I found the book entertaining.

I thought this was a first in a series because the book started so slowly but it turns out to be the fourth in a series. Eventually, it picked up and I liked it OK.

The Agatha Christie angle drew my interest, which is why I chose to read it, but it was darker than the typical cozy, to my disappointment..

I might consider going back and reading the earlier books in the series but I'm not positive about that.

Zoe Zola is a writer who is writing a biography on the life of author Agatha Christie. When she receives a black-edged envelope, it's not the first time she's ever seen one. It always means death. And it's an omen she thought ended with the death of her own mother. Because it seemed her mother had sinned in the eyes of her family, and each time an envelope arrived, it meant the loss of one more family member she would never see again.

So Zoe doesn't open the letter, merely looks at it. She thought she was done with her mother's family, they would never find her. But now...when her neighbor Dora arrives, she sees the letter, and when Dora's daughter Jenny comes to Zoe's home, she finds both her mother and Zoe staring at it. So Jenny opens it - and finds not a death notice, but an invitation to a webinar on Agatha Christie.

After much indecision, Zoe decides to attend, and Jenny will drive her there. Jenny, for her part, has decided she can't marry the man who loves her but doesn't know why. So she's going to visit her sister Lisa, a documentary filmmaker, while Zoe is at the webinar, and will return to drive her home. But will either things turn out the way they want? Or will Zoe find herself in a bizarre twist of Christie's famous And Then There Were None?...

THIS IS HIDDEN IN A SPOILER ON GOODREADS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK:

This is the first time I've made a foray into this author's works, and more than likely it will be the last. The book is...very dark, to say the least. It's also full of revenge and hatred, much more than any cozy I've ever read, or should be labeled. I'm not sure if the author was perhaps trying to "recreate" a combination of Christie's And Then There Were None and Murder On the Orient Express, but if so, it falls far short. Christie's works are witty and highly entertaining, and this one is neither.

The characters are not people I would ever want to know or spend time with, which is essential in a book. Even with Zoe's difficult past, she states how she is happy, but she's not. She has walls that people will never get through - and you can't have that many walls around your soul and be truly happy. She takes personal offense at things people say - the way people say things, because why should you walk on eggshells around them so as not to offend them? - even though no offense is made, and subtly attacks others.

Dora is just Dora - seemingly happy but refusing to confront her daughters about anything, for some odd reason. I'm not saying she should be combative, far from it; but if you can't have discussions with your own children about life - and they think it's interfering instead - well, something is really wrong. Both her daughters are dysfunctional and she won't confront them because they won't talk to her if she does. So what was she doing why they were growing up? Ignoring them? Leaving them to their own devices instead of developing a healthy relationship with them? Just figuring if she let them do whatever they wanted there would be no future problems?

The older daughter, Lisa, would rather live on twigs and berries than worry about having financial stability (she can make documentaries till the cows come home, but if no one is going to pay to see them, what good does it do?) while the younger, Jenny, has a man who's in love with her and wants to marry her, and just like her mother, she won't sit down and talk out the problems so the relationship can progress. She'd rather just walk away. Do these sound like people you want to spend time with? And these women aren't just out of their teens - Lisa is 40, and Jenny is 38! That one threw me a little bit.

Then there were the problems which popped up before I even got halfway into the book: I had a difficult time believing that a guy Jenny had gone to high school with but hadn't seen since then would just proposition her after about twenty minutes of talking to each other. Really? He tells her he had a crush on her in high school and then wants to jump in the sack with her. Right.

Then, when Zoe got to the lodge, Jenny went in with her. Almost immediately the proprietor, Emily Brent, started talking about Jenny leaving. Zoe should have decided to go with her. If Emily hemmed and hawed and decided she could find a room for Jenny after all, then Zoe would have known immediately why she was there. It didn't make any sense - missed clues on her part, and she was writing the biography of Christie! The very minute Emily grabbed Jenny's arm to shove her out the door should have alerted them both. But it didn't. And therefore, I couldn't take the book seriously after that. When danger slaps you in the face, you don't turn the other cheek. You run like hell.

Unfortunately, Zoe and Jenny didn't take the hint, but I did, and I refuse to read books that will wind up making me angry or irritated, which this book would have done if I'd read it without skipping bits and pieces. Especially when I got to the end and realized I was right.

This was a story of using someone to get revenge on another person. Using them to even a score. Not even caring about their emotions, their physical being, the end result they would have to live with. Regardless of that outcome, there was nothing that made it right, or made it seem like it would have been worth it. Is it worth it to a human being to lose part of your soul to aid someone who destroyed that which you loved most? I don't think so, at least not in my opinion. To bury the anger you feel at realizing you were played like a violin and not be able to do anything about it? Sorry, but perhaps if things had turned out differently; if there had been justice for Zoe; I might have liked the book better. There wasn’t even justice for the reader.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is my first experience reading this author. To be completely honest, the title is what caught my eye and it reminded me of an Agatha Christie book. Much to my surprise, this book is set at an Agatha Christie conference!

I did enjoy this book, even if there were a few parts that were a smidge off for me personally. Can't wait till the next one.

I absolutely could not put this book down! I read this book on one super hot day, and enjoyed every last bit. The book is full of suspense and keeps you guessing all the time. Just when you think that you know what is going on you are surprised yet again… Riveting.’

There were parts of this book I liked such as the Agatha Christie focus and of course mystery. I love the character Zoe and while it was nice to have some backstory on her, it didn’t seem to fit with the Zoe created in my mind in the previous books. Jenny’s character was almost whiny for a woman in her late thirties which was kind of annoying. This story was darker than what I would consider a cozy mystery and I didn’t care for the ending at all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review!