Two people with nothing in common are found dead. Apparently poisoned by an artificial intelligence security system. Now Izzy needs to find out whether robots are taking over the world or if there's a geeky murderer on the loose.
Oh, and she also needs to juggle the demands of her personal life--playing along with Etta's latest deception, rehoming a mysteriously acquired stray dog, cheering up her mopey housemate, and helping Harper cut ties with her worst boyfriend yet.
But Izzy's biggest challenge of all will be helping Connor face the demons of his past. And if she fails, she might lose him forever...
Comment: This is the fifth installment in the series featuring poison taster Isobel Avery. The series is a mix of comedy with a murder investigation and this time, somehow, I wasn't as dazzled by this entry, even though it still felt a little above average when compared with other similar types of series.
Isobel is kind of forced to accept a client for the Taste Society and this is only the last straw that compels her boyfriend and mentor Connor to think they should not be together. Izzy is an optimist and will try her best to turn this around but,in the meantime, the client she was reluctant to accept ends up dead and his father is demanding an investigation. While dealing with several other little things, Izzy and Connor - despite the current state of their personal relationship - start interviewing those who are somehow involved in the case leading to the client's murder. Who could it be and why are the questions, but will they learn the truth before more problems reach Izzy?
If I were to think of this series as a set of adventures the main characters had to deal with while navigating their personal lives, then this is quite an engaging one, and probably why I've kept reading. But if I were to wonder why the personal growth of the characters or why the relationships aren't developed with more complexity, this would have always been a frustrating series.
This is why, for the most part, this wasn't as entertaining an installment as others have been, grades aside. I think the idea of the series is a good one, and the characters are likable in their own way, and I have always appreciated the small mix of comedy and seriousness at the right times. Even though there are several silly things per book, I still feel the overall story is a good one, and that includes how I perceive the main characters' relationship.
Sadly to me, the relationship between Izzy and Connor feels stagnated because they are already officially a couple. We also have the limitation of seeing everything through Izzy's eyes and not knowing what Connor is thinking, except in very specific (small) chapters here and there throughout the series. I was hoping this situation would not be an issue and, in fact, could be a way for Izzy to feel confident and more of a believer in her new skills, since someone with more experience is helping her. However, assuming this is why, the author seemed to want to add an element of drama by creating doubts in their relationship, making Connor feel trapped with someone who is more of a risk taker than he imagined.
I will say this is believable, of course, considering the adventures Izzy sees herself in all the time, but he isn't exactly a desk employee either and his reaction seems drastic, even accepting some traumas in his past. In my opinion, this plot choice was only a way to create conflict, so that more development could be included and/or intensified. There is one more book after this one, which makes me wonder if, perhaps, the author could not continue with the series and that makes this installment a little pointless.
In relation to the plot of this book, it had its clever moments of course, and I did not suspect the culprit until a certain point and even then only because it felt rather obvious once a specific element is shared. The methods to reach that conclusion were done well enough, I'd say, and all the shenanigans Izzy and her close group of friends see themselves in was fun as it usually is, which means that, this time and in regards to this book in particular, unlike with most long series I follow, I was actually more interested in the plot than in the characters.
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