LitPick Review
When the village lout of Thimble Down shows up one day with a precious elvish brooch, rumors fly and greed accumulates. The entire town is abuzz with the stories he and his cohorts are telling of their adventures with elves, dwarves, and goblins; nearly all of the airheaded, food infatuated Halflings who inhabit the country village are pulled under the shady trio’s spell. So, when a company of elves enter the establishment searching for a stolen brooch matching the one the miscreants had supposedly been given, it is up to the Sheriff and the Bookmaster to solve the mystery of the bejeweled ornament before fate befalls it and its untrustworthy owners.
Opinion:
While Pete Prown’s Thimble Down had an engaging mystery aspect, the overall enjoyment of the novel was diminished by the over detailed and repetitive writing style. As a teen reader, I found myself bored by the thickly described passages and the frequent reminder of characters’ roles. Also, it was a challenge to empathize with the main character who was an obese middle-aged fellow, along with the rest of the villagers; it seemed that everyone’s life revolved around food and drink. There were, however, some interesting plot twists that provided some respite and the plot was well thought out. Thimble Down would be enjoyed by fifth to seventh graders who enjoy a bit of problem solving but aren’t interested in action/adventure genres.
