Scan barcode
rebeccacider's review against another edition
2.0
I've always had mixed feelings about P.D. James, and this book will certainly be the last of hers I read for some time. I find her novels well-crafted, engrossing, and memorable, but I'm not sure that I actually enjoy them.
Innocent Blood is populated by a cast of characters who exist in a miasma of dysfunctional amorality. James depicts their inner lives with detached, sociological precision, writing with subtle compassion, yet rarely permitting us to identify with them. The novel could as easily be titled "Original Sin" - there's a heavy-handed pessimism about human nature and the ability of individuals to be genuinely self-aware or altruistic.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Innocent Blood reads like a morality play. Fair enough for a crime novel, but not my cup of tea. Here the worldview of the author looms so large, and the story feels so artificially bleak, that it's hard for me to assess whether James' story has anything genuine to say about the human experience.
Innocent Blood is populated by a cast of characters who exist in a miasma of dysfunctional amorality. James depicts their inner lives with detached, sociological precision, writing with subtle compassion, yet rarely permitting us to identify with them. The novel could as easily be titled "Original Sin" - there's a heavy-handed pessimism about human nature and the ability of individuals to be genuinely self-aware or altruistic.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Innocent Blood reads like a morality play. Fair enough for a crime novel, but not my cup of tea. Here the worldview of the author looms so large, and the story feels so artificially bleak, that it's hard for me to assess whether James' story has anything genuine to say about the human experience.
hlogan's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book because my friend is such a fan of the author, but I had a hard time doing so. I didn't find many of the characters relatable - I just can't relate to a protagonist who doesn't care that her mother strangled the life out of an innocent child; and indeed only gets upset when (SPOILER ALERT) she finds out that her mother abused her too as a child....or to an adoptive family who doesn't have any love for her or each other....or her adoptive father (SPOILER ALERT) wanting to sleep with her and indeed doing so at the end. It was all just a little too distasteful for me to enjoy it.
tomhill's review
4.0
"Perhaps that was why revenge was so satisfying; it worked."
P.D. James is a cut above your average mystery writer. Her prose is wonderful to read, and in her best work it's elegant and literary. I've read the two Cordelia Gray novels, which are excellent, and a couple of Dalgliesh books, which are also very good. Innocent Blood contains all the strongest elements of those more traditional detective stories, but it's different in many ways too. It's even darker and more cynical than the other P.D. James I've read, and delves pretty deep when exploring grief and its ripple effects. There's nothing too graphic depicted here, but there are brief descriptions, like a quick flash of an image on screen, which are unsettling in a different way than long descriptions of violence would be. The book has kind of a sluggish start, and it does drag in some spots, but if you don't mind more leisurely paced crime novels, you can't go wrong with P.D. James.
P.D. James is a cut above your average mystery writer. Her prose is wonderful to read, and in her best work it's elegant and literary. I've read the two Cordelia Gray novels, which are excellent, and a couple of Dalgliesh books, which are also very good. Innocent Blood contains all the strongest elements of those more traditional detective stories, but it's different in many ways too. It's even darker and more cynical than the other P.D. James I've read, and delves pretty deep when exploring grief and its ripple effects. There's nothing too graphic depicted here, but there are brief descriptions, like a quick flash of an image on screen, which are unsettling in a different way than long descriptions of violence would be. The book has kind of a sluggish start, and it does drag in some spots, but if you don't mind more leisurely paced crime novels, you can't go wrong with P.D. James.
liahecht's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
pietan's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I normally liv P. D. James, but this one left me bored and underwhelmed
charlotte_louisee_'s review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
viktoriya's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly I didn't like this book. It was...what's the word I am looking for...wordy (if it's possible to say that about a book). The author just kept blabbing on and on and on about nothing.