Lincoln, Beth: The Swifts, a Dictionary of Scoundrels (2023)

[=Tamar]

Lincoln, Beth: The Swifts , a Dictionary of Scoundrels (2023) YA
This is a wacky book. Pratchett is not wacky. This is.
At some point near the end we do learn the age of the viewpoint character, Shenanigan Swift.
Much is not explained - why the older characters are called Arch-Aunts instead of Great-aunts, why they can live by their own laws despite apparently living in a version of our world's UK - at least, they have police, but apparently the police just take their word for what happens, up to and including deaths. I say it's YA because there are a couple of character deaths.
It doesn't matter. It's entertaining and that's mainly what it set out to do. There are characters I liked, the implicit morals aren't too heavy-handed, and overall it's an enjoyable mystery.
You might want to try to get it from the library, which will help the library.

 

[RathDarkblade]

This is a wacky book. Pratchett is not wacky. This is.

STP is wacky, at least according to the reviewers of his earlier books. *pokes out tongue at reviewers*

Much is not explained - why the older characters are called Arch-Aunts instead of Great-aunts, why they can live by their own laws despite apparently living in a version of our world's UK - at least, they have police, but apparently the police just take their word for what happens, up to and including deaths.

That sounds odd. What are the police for, if they're not there to detect and punish crimes?

It doesn't matter. It's entertaining and that's mainly what it set out to do. There are characters I liked, the implicit morals aren't too heavy-handed, and overall it's an enjoyable mystery.

Yay for not-too-heavy-handed morals! I'll look out for it. Thanks, =Tamar.

 

[=Tamar]

Sir Terry responded once to the "wacky" claim, indirectly. He said that Discworld is not wacky.

 

[Tonyblack]

DW is definitely NOT "wacky".

 

[RathDarkblade]

Don't get me wrong; I agree that DW is not "wacky". It's simply that early reviewers of DW called it so, simply because it had wizards and dragons etc. (I think they may have been reviewing TCOM or TLF, if I remember).