5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quick and enjoyable, but needs more substance and more puzzles, July 5, 2007
This review is from: Death by Sudoku (A Sudoku Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked this one up purely because of the title. I'm a puzzle nut and I love logic puzzles, though my tastes tend towards the picture forming logics and not so much to Sudoku, but I had to see how Sudoku fit into the murder plot.
The answer is, "Thinly." It's there, but it could really be any kind of puzzle that uses numbers or words. There were also only five puzzles in the book. Considering one could pick up a magazine for three dollars that contains nearly 200 puzzles, one would think a novel could be a little more forthcoming at $6.99.
The plot also is too far-fetched to be believable, and it ends too abruptly. I hit the end and thought, "But there's still some book left!" Yes, the last twenty-five pages of the book are not part of the novel, but are tips and tricks on how to solve Sudoku.
This isn't to say it's a bad book. The characters are a lot of fun, I loved the protagonist and the writing style is nicely sparse. I was hoping for more local color in Oregon, but Ms. Morgan got L.A. down cold.
So all in all, it's a nice start. Hopefully, experience with make subsequent books more engaging.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great Characters. . .Terrible Plot, May 27, 2008
This review is from: Death by Sudoku (A Sudoku Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
Liza is a great character, fully developed and well fleshed-out, but characterization is not a problem in Death By Sudoku. The problem is the plot. The story didn't maintain its momentum to the end of the book, and the way she solved the mystery left me saying "What? That makes no sense."
Death By Sudoku was a big disappointment, and I'm sad to say I won't be reading any more. I just didn't care about the characters or the plot enough by the end of the book to stay interested. It was very contrived and convenient.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun little book, July 14, 2007
This review is from: Death by Sudoku (A Sudoku Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a light and peppy mystery with a lot of very well presented information about sudoku, including some puzzles to solve if you choose to. I took it along on a weekend camping trip, and it was great company. As a serious sudoku addict who loves hard-but-solvable puzzles, I was afraid the sudoku theme would be too simplistic, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story line may be a bit unrealistic, but it is so well presented and written that I was willing to suspend disbelief.
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