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ruth559's review against another edition
3.0
I was a bit disappointed with my final read of 2021. After nearly giving up due to an overuse of literary techniques which just annoyed me, repetitions and wishy washy characters, I carried on just to keep my goodreads numbers up before the new year! It picked up in the second half, and ended up an ok read, but won’t be rushing out to read another by this author.
erinnejc's review against another edition
4.0
A thrilling read which kept me turning the pages, characters you care for and just brilliantly written. Great novel!!
kris27y's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent and Mental illness
gemmaj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thegirlwhoneedbooks2023's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wafflepolly's review against another edition
3.0
I've read the second and third book in this series ([b:The Scorched Earth|51156403|The Scorched Earth|Rachael Blok|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565518772l/51156403._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72728741] and [b:Into the Fire|50336282|Into the Fire|Rachael Blok|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578353409l/50336282._SX50_.jpg|75276789]), and while they all work as standalones, I've been meaning to go back and read this first instalment for a while.
Set, as the other books are, in St Albans, here we meet DCI Maarten Jansen for the first time, after a 14 year old schoolgirl is found dead in the city park's lake just before Christmas. It's not long until another girl goes missing in ways that suggest that the two are linked. While Jansen takes more of a front seat than in the third book in particular, the story is still very much driven by the perspective of other characters. In this book, much of the story comes from Jenny, a new mother who feels incredibly connected to the case, and keeps finding herself sleepwalking in the park and seeing ghosts of girls. Jenny is a really interesting character to read, and Blok has done a good job of writing someone who is increasingly unsure of her own mental state.
Alongside DCI Jansen, and each book's other POV characters, Blok makes the weather a key character in her series. Under The Ice is set in a particularly cold, snowy, and icy December, adding an interesting threatening layer to the mood while at the same time lending itself to some beautiful descriptive writing while children make snowmen in the park which has become a crime scene.
Having read the later books, it feels apparent that this is Blok's debut. The writing is a little clumsy at times — I noticed, among other things, a couple of occasions where the tense changed mid-paragraph, and a few occasions during POV chapters where the perspective shifted to someone else slightly — and overall just not as polished as the later stories.
Unfortunately I found the outcome of the central mystery to be very easy to predict. There weren't a huge number of people to suspect so I'd decided very early on who my suspicions fell upon, and I didn't really falter in that decision while continuing to read.
The pace is decent; although perhaps a little slow to begin with. Towards the end it begins to race at breakneck speed, with chapters becoming shorter and shorter, hurtling towards the conclusion.
It's still a really decent read and I recommend the series. Some slightly clumsy moments in the writing let this one down a little, however Blok's style gets honed throughout the series.
3.5 stars, rounded down.
Set, as the other books are, in St Albans, here we meet DCI Maarten Jansen for the first time, after a 14 year old schoolgirl is found dead in the city park's lake just before Christmas. It's not long until another girl goes missing in ways that suggest that the two are linked. While Jansen takes more of a front seat than in the third book in particular, the story is still very much driven by the perspective of other characters. In this book, much of the story comes from Jenny, a new mother who feels incredibly connected to the case, and keeps finding herself sleepwalking in the park and seeing ghosts of girls. Jenny is a really interesting character to read, and Blok has done a good job of writing someone who is increasingly unsure of her own mental state.
Alongside DCI Jansen, and each book's other POV characters, Blok makes the weather a key character in her series. Under The Ice is set in a particularly cold, snowy, and icy December, adding an interesting threatening layer to the mood while at the same time lending itself to some beautiful descriptive writing while children make snowmen in the park which has become a crime scene.
Having read the later books, it feels apparent that this is Blok's debut. The writing is a little clumsy at times — I noticed, among other things, a couple of occasions where the tense changed mid-paragraph, and a few occasions during POV chapters where the perspective shifted to someone else slightly — and overall just not as polished as the later stories.
Unfortunately I found the outcome of the central mystery to be very easy to predict. There weren't a huge number of people to suspect so I'd decided very early on who my suspicions fell upon, and I didn't really falter in that decision while continuing to read.
The pace is decent; although perhaps a little slow to begin with. Towards the end it begins to race at breakneck speed, with chapters becoming shorter and shorter, hurtling towards the conclusion.
It's still a really decent read and I recommend the series. Some slightly clumsy moments in the writing let this one down a little, however Blok's style gets honed throughout the series.
3.5 stars, rounded down.
lldavey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mspearson5040's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
2.0
A fairly predictable murder-mystery/thriller with flat characters and average writing, but nonetheless an interesting concept and a reasonably engaging read.