In Not According to Flan by Karen C. Whalen, Jane Marsh has decided to move to a new suburb of her hometown of Denver to get a fresh start on life after the loss of her second husband. On the very day she moves into the new community development, she spies something strange in the unfinished lot next to her new home. Investigating further, Jane discovers the body of Ethan, the manager and CEO of the construction company that is building this development. Then Jane learns that Ethan’s twin brother, Steven, has disappeared. Afraid for her own safety, Jane determines to solve the case herself and involves the members of her supper club to do so.
I really wanted to like Not According to Flan, but unfortunately, I found it hard to connect to. The plot revolved around Jane’s asking many of the same questions of everyone she considers to be a suspect, but while her questioning probably is more realistic to a civilian’s ability to interrogate others, this did not measure up to the examples of questioning by amateurs in other cozy mysteries.
While in some ways I liked the character of Jane, I tended to have difficulty connecting with her because she didn’t feel entirely realistic to me. Her determination to solve the murder seems forced upon the character at times, as if this detail of Jane was created merely in order to create a mystery novel. Further, I found her behavior strange when she frequently notices that someone has broken into her house and moved just a few things around, but she always seems to allow herself to get distracted by things minor compared to the concern of break-ins. When Jane finally admits to her friends that she is sure someone has broken into her house, it never even enters her mind to call the police. What kind of person would do that? Then when she gets a threatening note, she promises her daughter-in-law that she will call the police the next day. What justification would she have to wait a day, and why would her daughter-in-law be satisfied with that statement?
Ann Simmons performs the audio edition of this book. Using a gentle, understated tone, Simmons sometimes comes across as a little dull, but she suits the character of Jane, who can be a little bit bland at times. The voices she uses for each character are effective, well portraying the nature of each.
I thought that Not According to Flan had promise, but I was disappointed by some weaknesses as stated earlier. The conclusion didn’t really satisfy me either. I give this book three stars.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no effect on the content of my review.
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