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Post by booboobrewer on Nov 7, 2008 20:42:59 GMT -5
^I would have liked that twist.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2008 23:10:15 GMT -5
I just read this one for the first time, don't know how I missed it before. I really liked the mystery part. I love cozy mysteries, and this has it all- a big spooky old house, a family feud, a crazy will, and a hidden treasure. The sentimentalist in me cheered when the sisters finally buried the hatched and they all became one big, happy family. The downside is the mystery was ridiculously easy to solve- I knew the answer right away when I read the first clue. When Dawn said it felt like the eyes in all the creepy portraits were following them I was sure the butler was spying on them through eyeholes in the protraits. I'm kind of disappointed he wasn't, although he WAS spying on them. The subplot with Dawn overscheduling herself and Friends Day was pretty boring. If I was going to judge this book by it's cover, I'd say Dawn was rifling the Livingston family jewels.
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inconstant heart
Sitter-In-Training
wind is wading on the floor, we won't be lovely anymore...
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Post by inconstant heart on Nov 21, 2008 1:37:19 GMT -5
I just read this one for the first time, don't know how I missed it before. I really liked the mystery part. I love cozy mysteries, and this has it all- a big spooky old house, a family feud, a crazy will, and a hidden treasure. The sentimentalist in me cheered when the sisters finally buried the hatched and they all became one big, happy family. The downside is the mystery was ridiculously easy to solve- I knew the answer right away when I read the first clue. When Dawn said it felt like the eyes in all the creepy portraits were following them I was sure the butler was spying on them through eyeholes in the protraits. I'm kind of disappointed he wasn't, although he WAS spying on them. The subplot with Dawn overscheduling herself and Friends Day was pretty boring. If I was going to judge this book by it's cover, I'd say Dawn was rifling the Livingston family jewels. I read this one for the first time as a kid, and I couldn't solve the mystery at all! I did figure the ugly painting would factor in somehow, since they mentioned it so often, but otherwise... unsolvable for me. I totally agree on the sentimental aspect of this book. It worked really nicely into the subplot, which I enjoyed a lot; this is really one of my favourite Dawn books, because of how much she seems to appreciate her family and friends. I love how during the intro pages, she takes 'memory pictures' of everyone and during family day, she does something with everyone, even Richard. Mystery-wise, I adore this book. I know what you mean about the how cozy it is; I can really vividly picture a big, creaky house and the BSC girls creeping around trying to end a family feud. It's more fun to read than the ones where they're racing around town and I always like the ones with riddles. A few things stand out in this one for me: -While Dawn's snooping around the library, she sees a form/document signed 'A. Livingston' and she and Abby both immediately jump to the idea it's the dead guy, rather than his living daughter. I laughed so hard at this. The BSC girls seriously jump to the weirdest conclusions. -Jamie Newton eats four cupcakes and asks Dawn to marry him. I don't why I remember this so clearly, but the way it's written makes it sound like the sugar made him high or something. -Jenny P. and her monkey. I thought it was adorable that she'd give it to Dawn. I wonder if Dawn actually took it? -I totally thought Amy and Patrick were having some kind of sordid affair. 'I can't wait any longer!' 'You have to!' ... Haha. -All the BSC girls drooling over Patrick, even Kristy! -Dawn describing her calendar as a disaster. I always wondered how you could make that many plans and not record it somewhere, but maybe that's because I'm an organisation freak. -'You helped us find our true inheritance: each other.' Seriously, one of the sappiest, but sweetest lines I've read in a long time in a BSC book. Conclusion? One of my favourite mysteries, no question.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2008 12:03:26 GMT -5
While Dawn's snooping around the library, she sees a form/document signed 'A. Livingston' and she and Abby both immediately jump to the idea it's the dead guy, rather than his living daughter. I laughed so hard at this. The BSC girls seriously jump to the weirdest conclusions. I love that part, deciding it's been signed by Mr. Livingston, and never even considering the LIVE A. Livingston in the house. Or the possibility of forgery- after all, they've never seen his signature so they don't know if it's his handwriting. It could have been written by Ronald McDonald for all they knew. Thinking about this, I'm surprised Dawn didn't think it was written by a ghost. I thought Amy and Patrick were having some kind of affair too. And I also wondered how Dawn's calendar got to be such a disaster, especially when she's been presented as such an organized neat freak. Not Richard Spier-level neat freak, but definitely organized. I like the mysteries where they're solving a puzzle much better than the ones where they're trying to catch a criminal.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Nov 27, 2008 20:51:12 GMT -5
-All the BSC girls drooling over Patrick, even Kristy! That sounds so wrong out of context, since Patrick is her father's name, too.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Dec 1, 2008 13:00:56 GMT -5
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Amy and her brother were lovers and not siblings!
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Post by otempora541 on Aug 29, 2009 12:56:13 GMT -5
-Dawn describing her calendar as a disaster. I always wondered how you could make that many plans and not record it somewhere, but maybe that's because I'm an organisation freak. Oh it's possiable. Dawn doesn't seem too organized, and with rushing around trying to do everything she needs to do (babysit, meetings, see friends, see family, etc) seems like she got lost quickly. I'm amazed she managed to recall every single appointment once she sat down and started mapping the hwole thing out and not forget anything else. I thought the mystery aspect of this book was kind of glossed over: everything was figured out by chapter 13 (and the mystery doesn't even begin until chapter 5). I was looking at the back of something when I realized that the reason this book was so sentimental is because it's the last Dawn book in the regular series. Everything else she appears or has a chapter, but other then CD, this is the last Dawn book. Intresting huh?
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oldhickory
Sitting For The Arnolds
Heather Loves Boys and Gym
Posts: 3,258
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Post by oldhickory on Jul 28, 2010 4:10:54 GMT -5
bringing up an old thread. i reread this one this morning. it's one of my absolute favorite mysteries, just because the mansion sounds incredible. even though i know it isn't real, i would give anything to see it. i'm so glad other people totally thought amy and the butler were doing it. it was such a letdown at the end when i realized they were actually siblings.
something that bothered me was the whole business with the signature on the check. it was too obvious that amy signed it, because her name clearly started with an a. if her name had been amanda and she went by mandy (or some other nickname that wasn't so obvious) i might have bought it. but since everybody knew her as amy, i thought it was extra ridiculous. it's a good book though.
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Post by zoar3 on Jul 28, 2010 12:00:04 GMT -5
I thought Amy and John were romantically involved and it was a letdown when they were siblings. Also, sad and strange the way neither of his older sisters recognized him.
I do wish the father in the painting had been alive, it sure felt like he was.
This was one of my very favorite mysteries though. Maybe because Dawn actually eats Ben and Jerrys!
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Post by maddieruns on Oct 17, 2010 12:02:16 GMT -5
Was the end of this book supposed to be a set up for another book? It was so random how they added the part of Kristy visiting Dawn in California at the end. I really wanted to hear how the Brewers family vacation went at Dawn's. I feel like Watson is such a vacation crasher because it totally seemed like Watson just invited himself and his gigantic family to stay at Jack's before going to Hawaii.
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Post by zoar3 on Oct 17, 2010 16:30:38 GMT -5
It's too bad we never got to read about the TB's in Hawaii. Maybe just me, but I always wished we could have read a family vacation (besides Stacey's book and briefly in the book where Claudia catches her mom reading a romance novel)? without the BSC.
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Post by booboobrewer on Oct 17, 2010 20:24:59 GMT -5
haha what book was it where Mrs. Kishi reads a romance novel?
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Post by anzuhana on Oct 17, 2010 21:02:34 GMT -5
^ I think it was Friends Forever Everything Changes.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Oct 26, 2010 17:17:58 GMT -5
^ I think it was Friends Forever Everything Changes. Yes, it was. The family was supposed to be doing intellectual things, and Claudia catches her with a trashy romance novel.
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Post by anzuhana on Nov 6, 2010 9:33:59 GMT -5
Like many others on the board, I thought that Amy and John were lovers, instead of siblings. I would've liked to read about how things went at California when the Thomas-Brewer's were over at the Schafer's. It would've been interesting to read about what would've happened while the Thomas-Brewer family was there.
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