Lucy steps outside of her comfort zone to investigate Horace’s murder. How did she change and evolve over the course of the investigation? What were your thoughts on Lucy and Frank as a sleuthing duo?
Lucy was always clever, in person and with the character she wrote. I think she gained confidence during her investigation. She realized that she could be clever beyond the page and step forward. She was shy before and learned to put herself out there more. As a detecting duo, they worked well together, though I think Lucy did the bulk of the detecting. She was more consistent and observant than he was.
I think she becomes more comfortable with herself. She realizes she is capable and writes well. Through this process, she changes from being the meek, unspeaking person to one that shares her own views. Lucy and Frank make an excellent duo. They seem to know what each other are thinking and are able to solve Horace’s murder. In their sleuthing they realize they love each other and always have.
Lucy developed her creative and investigative skills and nurtured her confidence by taking on this investigation challenge. The Duo seemed a productive and natural linking of the two, emotionally and from a skill set basis.
While the book starts with Lucy being a bit under confident, as she undertakes to find out what happened she grows. I thought the time with her father renewed herself too. I believe Frank came up with some of the same conclusions as Lucy but I liked Lucy’s style.
While they worked well together to solve the crime, I think Lucy was definitely the heavy hitter. She really came into her own during the process. As Susan says, she was much more observant than Frank.
Through the process Lucy learned to not only trust herself but also to believe in herself. I was struck by the fact that she tried to put herself in the mindset of her main character…but really, when she trusted her own intuition she was successful. That’s when she started to believe in her own abilities and intelligence.
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I agree with Kristia, the group’s conversation gave Lucy confidence in herself and she realized that she was capable of contributing to the discussion and being taken seriously.
I had a hard time with Lucy and Frank not realizing that their relationship was worth fighting for. And Rita just was trying hard to be the woman that Frank wanted, and all the while, that was never going to happen. I really liked the way Lucy grew during the novel, ferreting out the answers to the puzzles. I am glad that Frank has a woman like her in his life Here’s hoping that Jackie McMahon writes another of these novels. I would enjoy that!
I did love that she and Frank became partners, yet still held somethings close to the vest. I like how they grew and realized they could actually trust each other. However, I did think Lucy jumping in to this happened quickly.