Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts

How much fun was this book? I had a blast reading it; there are very pale shades of Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookshop to it, although it's an entirely different beast. Scavenger hunts! Unsolved mysteries! Lost fortunes! Secret codes!

Enough exclamation points - it was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure with an engaging cast of characters and the closest to unreliable narrators (not really) that I can come without hating a book. The narrator is reliable, but so much of the information she gets is not. There are stories within stories and games within games and the author does a phenomenal job putting it all together in a way that doesn't leave the reader behind. Racculia also scores points for combining brutal violence, a happy ending, and show more poetic justice in a way that I was willing to buy without a blink.

There was only 1 thing that left me hanging - a very minor plot point that was never addressed:

[spoiler]There's a letter sent by the deceased, shown to the reader exactly as it looks with the caveat that his typewriter was old and inconsistent. But it wasn't - there was a code "Tell your mother I love her". But the coded message is never brought up, and it's never mentioned. It's like it wasn't there, but it was and it's killing me.[/spoiler]

This is the kind of book you pick up when you just want to surrender a few hours to having an adventurous good time. show less

A rich, eccentric old Bostonian dies and leaves his fortune and collection of bizarre objects to anyone who can follow the clues he left around the city. Tuesday Mooney, black-clad introvert, loves a good puzzle, but to solve this one she'll need help from her friend Dex (whom she's always kept at arm's length), her tween next-door neighbor Dorry, and a handsome mysterious millionaire. Wait, why would a millionaire care about inheriting a fortune?

I'm not sure what to say about this book except that it hits me in exactly the right spot. The characters are complicated and relatable, and the plot is fun. Very Boston-y. The plot twists are twisty. And there are real consequences for the stupid things people do in the name of figuring out show more the mystery! What more could you want? show less

Tuesday Mooney has always been a bit odd and, ever since her best friend disappeared back in high school, keeps everyone at arm's length. At one of the fundraisers she was working with, an old eccentric rich man dies, and then leaves behind a treasure hunt that he announces in his obituary. Deciding to try her hand, Tuesday finds possible allies in Archie, a rich young man she meets at the fundraiser, Dex, who's been her somewhat distanced friend for awhile, and Dorry, her teenage next door neighbor. But all of the players have a motive of their own and secrets they keep from each other while working on the puzzle.

This was so much fun to read! I enjoyed the setting of Boston, the quirky characters, and the way the plot unfolded as they show more attempted to solve the puzzle. There were enough solid, grounding details that I could accept some of the more fanciful elements, including a ghost who may or may not be talking to Tuesday throughout. The puzzle and general plot kept me guessing, and the solution was satisfying. show less

When Tuesday Mooney was sixteen, her best friend Abby Hobbes disappeared, and her voice has lived in Tuesday's head, on and off, ever since. But Tuesday has her shit together: she lives in Somerville and works in Boston and works for a hospital, researching potential financial donors. Her life gets a lot more interesting when Vincent Pryce dies, dramatically, at a fundraiser, and leaves behind, in his own obituary, a puzzle for anyone to solve. Tuesday, of course, is on the case, along with her friend Dex, and her teenage neighbor Dorry ("Next Dorry"), who wants to win for her own reasons after reading about Pryce's collection of haunted odds and ends: she wants a pair of goggles that will allow her to see the ghost of her mother. At show more the center of Pryce's game is the Arches family: disappeared patriarch, eldest son Nathaniel, wife Constance, daughter Emerson, and disappeared-reappeared youngest son, Edgar (Archie), who teams up with Tuesday for his own reasons.

TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS abounds with clues to its high-stakes treasure hunt. Threaded through Pryce's game is the question: what is money really for? And what, in the right hands, can it do? Tuesday, Dorry, Dex, and Archie are all richly developed characters. Most characters are white, except Dorry (half-Chinese, half-Jewish, her friend Ned Kennedy, and Pryce's widow Lyle.

See also: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, In the Woods by Tana French, Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey, Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde

Quotes

It's easier to notice what's important when you're outside looking in. (12)

Her adult life had turned out to be a series of patterns and routines. (48)

It was a life without an organizing hunger, and it was slightly surprising...that the reward for achieving one's goals wasn't total satisfaction. (50)

Elision was the best kind of lying. You didn't even have to lie, just selectively tell. (86)

"Money has meaning when you put it to work." (Pryce, 134)

[Dorry] was half frustrated, half excited, half nervous, half elated. She was too many halves. She was twice as much as she usually was. (179)

"I've learned to embrace the mysterious. Because the strange, the extraordinary - those experiences that make you look at the world like you've never seen it before, really pay attention to it - the strange changes you. Shows you new things about yourself. About life. Other people." (Rabbit to Tuesday, 231)

What had seemed boring once had become infinitely interesting, essential even, now that it was gone. (240)

"Vince loved games. And he thought too many people had forgotten how to play. They'd been brainwashed into thinking the entire point of playing a game - or working or living or doing anything - is to win." (Lyle, 290)

If she looked cool, it was because cool was the only costume she had in her closet. (291)

"Be generous. And be generous now, because the future isn't a destination. It's an extension of how we choose to live today." (Tuesday's interpretation of Pryce's intentions, 292)

And a living wasn't something you made but something you did. Again and again, over and over, always, always becoming. (Dex, 324)

"To anonymously donate money. Like...angel investing. Crossed with microfinancing. Crossed with...MacArthur fellowships?" (Tuesday to Lyle, 354)

"Was all of this a job interview?"
"Is anything...ever only one thing?" (Tuesday and Lyle, 356) show less

WHAT'S TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS ABOUT?
When Tuesday Mooney isn't big on socializing—she seems to be a fantastic conversationalist, witty and smart—but she'd rather spend time on her own after work, with few exceptions. But even her best friend has to initiate conversations, she just doesn't do that kind of thing. Tuesday is a researcher for a hospital charity—she knows Boston's upper crust in ways few do. She has a well-documented dossier on them all and knows just how to get money out of them.

Tuesday has a neighbor, Dorry, who is an apprentice of sorts. Dorry's a younger teen who lost her mother recently in an automobile accident. Her father is doing his best, but he can't be everything she needs and provide for them. Dorry show more was fascinated by this woman in her building who wore black all the time and kept to herself. They run into each other one day and bond quickly. They soon have a weekly time together ("Tuesday Thursdays") and Tuesday tutors Dorry in school—and important things like 1980's-early 2000 music, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The X-Files.

At a charity event Tuesday's working at, a particular wealthy man—Vincent Pryce—dies shortly before Tuesday gets to meet him. Pryce rather enjoyed his coincidental name, and played into it. In addition to making gobs of money and doing a lot of charity work, he collected the macabre—particularly things associated with Edgar Allen Poe and that other Vincent. He was a bit of a showman and after his death, had arranged to announce sort of a giant scavenger hunt in the city—inviting individuals and teams to play along to be given the chance to become an heir.

Like many Bostonians, Tuesday and Dorry are intrigued. With some help from her neighbor, Tuesday pours her research strength into the project and leaps to an early lead—bringing along an old friend and a new ally (assuming she can trust him).

That's really all I can say at this point—other than to throw in, that like Samuel Westing before him, Vincent Pryce has a hidden agenda to his game. As we watch Tuesday, Dorry, and so many others compete, secrets are revealed. (that's a horribly inadequate way to say it, but I'm tripping over myself to avoid spoiling anything)

CONVERSING WITH SPECTERS?
So how literal is this title? Does our titular protagonist chat with the spirits of the departed? Maybe.

The book will eventually take a position on the issue, but it's going to take its time on it, letting the reader ponder that a bit. Now there are times when I want a book to be crystal clear—supernatural things happen, supernatural beings go around doing things. Or—supernatural things are mumbo jumbo. But every now and then I like a book that deals with the ambiguity well—Tuesday might be talking to ghosts, Tuesday might have a healthy and active imagination, Tuesday might be dealing with trauma. It might be all three and more.

Tuesday's neighbor, Dorry has no idea about Tuesday and ghosts. But almost more than anything, Dorry wants to see and interact with the ghost of her mother. At one point, she discovers that among Pryce's collection of oddities are a pair of glasses that can enable the wearer to see ghosts. This becomes her motivation for participating in the game—sure, money would be nice for college and to help her father—but those glasses...

HOW'S THE NARRATION?
Lauren Fortgang was delightful. There was just something about the way she handled the narrative portions that made this a blast to listen to. Her character work—especially with Tuesday and Dorry—was great, too. There's a certain sense of fun and play to the text, and she brought that out in a way that was particularly effective.

I enjoyed Fortgang's work on the Dahlia Moss audiobooks, and I was glad to listen to her again—I think she did better here, for what it's worth.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS?
I had so much fun listening to this—while doing so, things at work didn't allow me as much time to listen as I'm accustomed to, so there was a bit of agony involved as the suspense built.

I barely described the characters, and had to leave off so many. But I just don't have the space. Pryce's widow, for example, is a wonderful character who should get her own novella to star in. Tuesday's new ally is a mystery in himself—and won't stop surprising you until the book is over. I could keep going here, but I won't. I would love to have a long conversation with Racculia to talk about character design, more than most authors I've read recently. I'd love to know how she goes about it.

I'm not sure about the pacing of the whole thing, and I think there could've been one or two more moves in the game. But those issues really only occurred to me after I was done—in the moment, I was too busy enjoying myself to notice.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts was a lot of fun to read, filled with characters I want to spend more time with—I really don't need a story, maybe just see them sitting around a table talking about what's going on in their lives. The novel is rarely what you think it is going to be—and not just at the beginning. I really enjoyed it. show less

*Actual rating 2.5/5*

Well, this was... messy? I don't even know anymore... Tuesday Mooney Wore Black started from a great premise: billionaire treasure hunt with a quirky and mismatched groups of people? I was sold! Unfortunately, the more I read the less I enjoyed it, and by the time I got to the end I was speechless and not in a good way.

The idea for this was absolutely brilliant, and I loved the initial set up and mystery. As the story progressed, however, it started to get more and more complicated. I usually enjoy a good complex mystery, and even mixing up elements from various genres in one story, making it more original and avoiding the usual tropes. Here, though, it felt like the book was trying to do too many things at the same show more time, and didn't leave itself space to do any one of them fully.

Character development was also hit-and-miss for me. Tuesday and her neighbour Dorry were definitely my favourite characters and they both grow loads throughout the book, which I loved to see. The rest of the cast... meh. There were way too many characters, some of which really felt like little more than placeholders, so much so that I could hardly remember their names let alone why they were there in the first place. And even with the most important supporting characters, by the time we finally got to the ending they fell completely flat.

Like, I'm sorry but HOW did no one do anything when Nathaniel attacked Tuesday?? I would have been waaaay more upset at my so-called friends if they'd reacted the way Dex, Archie or any of the other finalists had than Tuesday seemed to be.

Overall, I was really sad not to have liked this more, but there were too many inconsistencies for me to fully enjoy it. I definitely seem to be in the minority here though, so if the blurb intrigues you give it a go and see what you think!

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less

such a well-written puzzle within a puzzle (or really a game within a game) that is unexpected and wonderful in all the best ways. so fun and written so well. loved the way this was so much more than a murder mystery (you really don't even know it's a murder mystery at all until pretty far in) and i couldn't put it down. there's also a number of really great character arcs and side stories. i particularly love the friendship story between tuesday and dex, and the way dorry's understanding of grief evolves.

a couple examples of the writing i loved so much:

"Dex had no delusions. He only had coping mechanisms..."

"...his hairline was receding at the same rate as his childhood dreams."

"She was half frustrated, half excited, half nervous, show more half elated. She was too many halves. She was twice as much as she usually was." show less