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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Val McDermid’s Kate Brannigan is a classic private eye: tough, smart, sarcastic, and smooth, like British, female Elvis Cole! This case gets her wrapped up in crooked land deals, fraud, and murder, and nearly gets her killed! My new favorite PI!
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So boring. Outdated and insensitive in its handling of disability and transgender characters. And boring.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
I had an inkling while I was reading the book, and so I did some digging once I finished and found that the book is older than I am! It certainly shows it in some parts, with the way the main protag talks about mobile phones, and an entire arc with computers and obtaining legal documents.. The prose also reads like one of the author's first books, but it's impressive how she's managed to portray a strong, female protagonist, who's skilled, highly functional and gets by most of the time on her own. It's also refreshing to have a thriller based entirely around two cases of fraud nicely intertwined through the course of the book.. There's a murder (spoilers), but it only happens more than halfway in, and it's tied to the original fraud plot.. I'd give this a very high 4/5, the prose gave off the impression that it was trying to be flowery, like someone was trying to write like say, Wodehouse would, but it didn't detract from my experience - I just imagined Kate, the character chooses to write her reports that way...
Thanks again to the British Council - this book is a part of the curated collection for their Digital Library Reading Marathon June 2024, I've been discovering so many amazing authors and genres that way!!!
Thanks again to the British Council - this book is a part of the curated collection for their Digital Library Reading Marathon June 2024, I've been discovering so many amazing authors and genres that way!!!
adventurous
funny
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Even though you can tell by the writing that this is an "early" Val McDermid novel, not as polished and intricate as some of her later work, it's still very good. It's also refreshing not to have a murder as the central point of the novel.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not as good as the first Kate Brannigan, but still a good read.