What do readers think of The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant by Liza Tully? Write your own review.

This book was well-written, though I found the pacing a bit slow, especially in the first half. However, the story picked up toward the end, making it more engaging. I did enjoy the development of the relationship between Merritt and Blunt, which added depth and charm to the story. Despite the slow start it was an enjoyable read overall.

Liza Tully's "The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant" is an easy summer murder mystery read. The book starts off with insecure, twenty-something-year-old Olivia Blunt ("Ollie") fretting over whether or not to marry her long-time boyfriend. The opportunity to work with stereotypically seasoned, stoic, and polished female detective Aubrey Merritt distracts Ollie from wedding woes and takes her onto an increasingly complex and twisty adventure. The plot is well established and keeps the reader second-guessing who could be behind the trail of bodies. In the end, the story was entertaining, but …more the lengthy conversations spurred me to want to get to the conclusion. (less)

I was so excited to read this book - the title and description really grabbed me - so I was thrilled when I received word I was chosen for an ARC. Thank you, BookBrowse and Berkley for the early copy! When I received the ARC, I my excitement continued, with chapter titles like "An Intriguing Woman with a lot to Offer", "Robbery!", and "The Second Best Son". I'm afraid the book may have suffered a bit from my high expectations.

First, the good. I think the side characters are well-described; I finished the book a couple of weeks ago and I still think about a few of the supporting characters. A couple of them may …more verge a bit on the cartoonish, but I don't think the line was crossed. It is a big cast of characters, but they're all drawn distinctly and I felt like I could picture them well or that I knew people like them in my own life.

The setting worked well for me - a sprawling resort - as it had elements of a locked room mystery, but didn't go so far as sticking everyone on an island, which seems to be the thing these days. It just felt like a fresh setting to me.

I think the mystery itself works well. I did work it out in advance, but not terribly far in advance. There were a number of different storylines that supported alternate suspects.

Now for the bad. I really disliked the World's Greatest Detective. She is very condescending to her Just Okay Assistant and berates her and her choices with some regularity. I typically enjoy prickly characters, but I think they need to have some positive traits to balance out their personalities in order to find them appealing as a character, and here I just didn't. The detective never shared information with her assistant, treated her like… an assistant (ha! But rudely). I'm still wondering why she wanted her assistant, and others, I suppose, to call her by her last name, Merritt. I just feel like we never learn anything about her or her backstory, so there's nothing to grab onto as a redeeming quality.

As for the main character herself, she's more likable. I did find her leaps from investigation to theories to be pat and conclusory. I can't entirely put my finger on what bothered me about the way she framed her theories, other than to say I felt like she seemed to come up with them fully formed without much explanation about how she got there. Another nit - and it is a nit - is there is a tiny side storyline with her boyfriend's wish for her to contact his mother about something. It's mentioned numerous times, and nothing is ever really made of it - there could have been more self-reflection or more universal points made using this as a springboard, but there really weren't, and I just saw that as a lost opportunity.

Finally I just felt like the writing style wasn't for me. I felt like it was a bit stilted - I just felt very aware I was reading. The flow did improve noticeably later in the book, in my opinion.

I think people who enjoy mysteries with sunshine/grumpy pairings would like this book. I also think people who enjoy the mystery element of a book and are less invested in "befriending" the detective will enjoy it. The mystery is more for fans of the cozy genre or who like books like The Maid or Richard Osman's series rather than hard core detective series. The closest comp I think of is Stephen Spotswood's Pentecost and Parker series, which also features a brilliant detective and her assistant, and is narrated by her assistant.

Thank you again to BookBrowse and Berkley for the Advance Reading Copy! (less)

In this light, private investigator mystery, Aubrey Merritt is looking for an assistant and Olivia Blunt believes it to be her dream job.

I found the title of this book appealing and hoped to be entertained by watching a novice learn from her mentor. What Blunt learns from her mentor, the world's greatest detective, is that she has a lot to learn and Merritt is an exacting teacher. Intuitive and scattered, Blunt is the polar opposite of Merritt's buttoned up observer.

Those characterizations are to be expected with this type of plot. The whimsical title led me to believe I'd see some funny screw-ups, a bit of …more laughter, and mutual character growth. What I found was a 25 year-old excited for her first PI job whose efforts are continually diminished by her mentor. Blunt was endlessly plucky and I could only imagine why as the 60-something Merritt criticized more than taught. Who hurt you Merritt?

Overall, the book was enjoyable and I did want to know the outcome. There were plenty of suspects and an enjoyable Vermont setting. I'm not giving anything away to note that the resolution surprised me. I liked Blunt's character and the subplot of her future marriage, but could not warm to Merritt's character even with a few tantalizing peeks into her past when she and Blunt meet for the interview. I wished for more character development for both leads and would love to see them both learn from each other if this becomes a series. (less)

I was a little over half way through the book and thought that I just couldn't finish the book. Then, the pieces started to come together. The individual storylines didn't seem as disconnected. I found some substance in the main characters. Olivia moved away from the meek secretary to a junior detective role. Aubrey Merritt moved from an unpleasant boss to a true detective. I know this review sounds negative; but I do hope it's Book 1 in a series about these mismatched women who fit together perfectly.

This book is well written, the characters are quite likeable and the story line is good. It was a little light for me but for those looking for a break from heavy reading, this could be a perfect choice.

I am an avid reader of murder mysteries and thrillers. For me they are excellent escapes from everyday life and I love trying to solve the puzzle with the clues the given by the author. In this book, I found the main characters to be contrived and too similar to Stephen Spotwood's Lilian Pentecost and Will Parker. While well-plotted, the story didn't move along quickly enough for me.

That said, I think writing a book is a major accomplishment and I'm in awe of anyone who does it and gets it published. If you want a murder mystery that is gore-free, and minimal hooks and twists, this is a great book for you.