The Last Equation of Isaac Severy
Ratings8
Average rating3.2
"The Family Fang meets The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry in this literary mystery about a struggling bookseller whose recently deceased grandfather, a famed mathematician, left behind a dangerous equation for her to track down--and protect--before others can get their hands on it. Just days after mathematician and family patriarch Isaac Severy dies of an apparent suicide, his adopted granddaughter Hazel, owner of a struggling Seattle bookstore, receives a letter from him by mail. In it, Isaac alludes to a secretive organization that is after his final bombshell equation, and he charges Hazel with safely delivering it to a trusted colleague. But first, she must find where the equation is hidden. While in Los Angeles for Isaac's funeral, Hazel realizes she's not the only one searching for his life's work, and that the equation's implications have potentially disastrous consequences for the extended Severy family, a group of dysfunctional geniuses unmoored by the sudden death of their patriarch. As agents of an enigmatic company shadow Isaac's favorite son--a theoretical physicist--and a long-lost cousin mysteriously reappears in Los Angeles, the equation slips further from Hazel's grasp. She must unravel a series of maddening clues hidden by Isaac inside one of her favorite novels, drawing her ever closer to his mathematical treasure. But when her efforts fall short, she is forced to enlist the help of those with questionable motives"--
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It took me quite a long time to finish The Last Equation of Isaac Severy. Maybe the book was slow-paced by its nature or there were just too many things thrown in.
I really enjoyed the mystery part of the novel, clues and how it all unravelled. But of course, there is a but =) Besides mystery there was a big part of family drama (and I didn't like it at all) and even some clumsy thriller.
The whole story is centred around the mysterious equation which in theory could predict the future murders and suicides. In the wrong hands, the equation could be extremely dangerous, but we have the good guy in the story, who would like to use it for some good reason (I have no idea what for). The idea for the plot is great and it is not a bad base for the story.
Then we have a couple points of view. Hazel (the main characters) is actually investigating the clues that her grandfather left her. She is not exactly a bright cookie and her decisions are pretty questionable. So it is a great thing that nobody makes a big deal out of things in the book.
There we also have two other narrators. One of them is Hazel's brother Gregory and the other one is their uncle Philip. They both have a bunch of issues, some of them are mental, some physical. But I really got sick of all the parent issues. I don't know who I despised more.
However, the most annoying thing about the book for me is that infidelity is pictured here as a solution for all men's problems. Kind of a vacation from the difficulty of life. I hope you see what is wrong with that.
All in all, the only part of the novel that I enjoyed was the actual mystery and everything else missed me completely. It is not a bad novel, but I would like it more if one particular genre was more pronounced.
Ch 7
Getting bored for a few chapters now. Beginning to wonder if I will finish this. Lots of detail (too much) about who is in Hazel's family and small details about their person. Who cares? Is there a story here? Will ONE of these boring details turn into foreshadow of an important plot twist? We finally learned about the hidden clue in the letter, but then that also fizzled out. Ch 10 stopped
