Rating: 3🌈
Stoned to Death is book 8 and I’ve already bought two more, but based on this, and the reviews I just read yesterday for book 22 , released oddly enough in 2022, I think I can say I’m done with this series and probably Meg Perry.
And that’s a shame because I’ve really enjoyed the mystery aspects of the series, the dynamics between the Brodie family, and getting to see the interesting inactions of the various librarians and libraries that they work for. That had been where Meg Perry, herself a librarian, has excelled.
Perry’s research on different subjects and depth of knowledge has been a huge key part in making each plot so compelling and wanting me to go forward with the rest of the series.
However, for me, the larger issues are ones that have always come from the relationship between librarian Jamie Brodie and ex cop, now professor of psychology, Pete Ferguson. Jamie himself is a fine character, with some interesting emotional baggage and ex’s in his background. His brother is a detective, he’s close to his father, it’s a wonderful, close knit family with strong bonds.
It’s Pete who’s the issue and his relationship with Jamie. And honestly the strange way in which this author has approached their romance (or strong lack of), the flags it waves for a toxic relationship despite that these books are simply full of therapy and a shared therapist who is determined for Jamie to stick by Pete. Plus there’s just zero sense of connection, or chemistry, or love between them. For books and books and books.
We are told that Jamie has feelings. And in what would be very similar to what is being categorized as “love bombing” now Pete repeatedly tells Jamie he loves him, pressuring him on various aspects of their lives when Pete feels threatened including, pressing him to get married. All while not wanting to have sexual relations with him.
There’s a very good reason for this. It’s due to his traumatic experiences with a priest in his childhood. And he’s been in therapy since then. Pete is a character you could empathize with, if he wasn’t in a relationship with Jamie. Because here he’s a toxic person. It’s everything his way , he uses fear to keep Jamie in the relationship. Pressure, money, he moved a homeless Jamie immediately into his house after Jamie and his brother has lost theirs to arson. It’s flag and more. But the author is writing about him as though he’s not a problem.
I had thought maybe it was due to the fact that this was published in 2015 and perspectives about relationships dynamics had changed since then. But reviews in 2022 show that no, the dynamics between them are still very much the same. So the writer has kept them there in their roles for 23 books. Unfortunately.
Stoned to Death has the potential to change so much here. And it comes up lacking. This sees Jamie and Pete at a critical moment again because of their lack of a sexual relationship. Or an uneven one. Jamie has given up trying for one that satisfies him and it’s showing in his face and physical condition. And Peter hasn’t noticed. They’ve brought it up to their therapist who has, again, told Jamie to proceed with their plan.
This here has a ton of flaws. From every angle. The plot and author’s intent.
The storyline is one of an archaeological mystery involving one of Pete’s Scottish relatives. It’s got bog bodies, upper crust ladies with shovels, homophobic relatives, intrigue amongst old archaeological sites, and a lot of personal struggles between Pete and Jamie. That only goes nowhere when it could have served to launch a change into the status quo.
While I’m listing issues, here’s another example:
“No. There are even popular reality shows about archaeology on British TV because there’s so much history to dig up. We don’t have that.”
That’s a quote that just serves how dated the story is, that two white American highly educated men, one a librarian and the other a professor, would utter these Anglo-Saxon phrases or perspectives, especially Jamie , a librarian who has been such a great proponent for different cultures and races in the stories. That’s indigenous culture erasure and it would be very hard to imagine that statement being made today. But I still find it hard to believe that Perry, as a librarian, had it as a viable thought from her main character even in 2015. That’s very disappointing.
And that’s primarily how I view the whole story. Disappointing. From every angle. There’s a good couple of elements, such as the old memoirs interspersed with the current events that lets us see into the past vividly. But , again the potential is lost as the mystery is not really explored thoroughly.
No recommendations. I have two books I bought to complete and then my journey here is complete. Shame.
Buy link:
Stoned to Death: A Jamie Brodie Mystery (Jamie Brodie Mysteries Book 8)
Blurb:
In 1915, farmer and amateur archaeologist Robert Thomson disappeared from Scotland’s Orkney Islands with a priceless Stone Age artifact. A century later, his great-great-grandson, Pete Ferguson, is coming to Scotland with boyfriend Jamie Brodie to meet his distant cousins and investigate Robert’s disappearance. But the homophobia of the Thomson patriarch threatens to derail their quest – and a chance meeting in a pub in Oxford brings Pete and Jamie’s relationship to a turning point.
• Publisher: (February 4, 2015)
• Publication date: February 4, 2015
• Language: English
• Print length: 159 pages
The Jamie Brodie Mysteries – 23 books
✓ Cited to Death
✓ Hoarded to Death
✓ Burdened to Death
✓ Researched to Death
✓ Encountered to Death
✓ Psyched to Death
✓ Stacked to Death
✓ Stoned to Death
◦ Talked to Death
◦ Avenged to Death
◦ Played to Death
◦ Filmed to Death
◦ Trapped to Death
◦ Promoted to Death
◦ Published to Death
◦ Cloistered to Death
◦ Haunted to Death
◦ Obsessed to Death
◦ Deserted to Death
◦ Drugged to Death
◦ Resigned to Death
◦ Snowed to Death
◦ Enchanted to Death
Dirty Laundry: The Jamie Brodie Short Stories (Jamie Brodie Mysteries)
Sequel series:
An Angeles Investigations Mystery
◦ Cheated to Death: Book 1
◦ Hunted to Death Book 2
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 