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_lish_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Rape
kirstym25's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Hate crime, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Rape
geraldinerowe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was my first Val McDermid and I was expecting good things. At first I was a little disappointed with the writing style. It was a little bit pot-boiler thriller style, and there were some rather lazy clichés (I don't believe anyone would really say "There must be some mistake" when told a loved-one has died, but it was used three times in this book). However, once the plot got going I couldn't stop reading. It's the first book in a long time that has made me read irresponsibly late into the night. I felt very smug through the last half of the book as I thought I'd guessed who the murderer was. I was wrong. I don't read a lot of crime fiction - my annual Sara Paretsky is usually enough for me - but I might add a Val McDermid into the mix occasionally from now on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Rape
velvet_young's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death, Violence, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
coggin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
readable but predictable and terribly written
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Rape
catherineneeds's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death and Homophobia
Minor: Rape
sshabein's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
What a difference a murder mystery written by a woman makes! No lingering breast descriptions, no looking women up and down as if it's the correct way of operating, actual thought put into having women police officers present, but hardly any lionization of the police in general. Not everything holds up (this came out in 2003), and some character choices are a bit abrupt, but overall, a good, solid book. I kinda saw the ending coming, but hey, I DO watch a lot of this stuff on TV.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Murder
verena's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
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