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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Cleverly constructed, this novel is a mystery in reverse; we start off knowing the killer and spend the length of the book discovering who was murdered and why. Events of thirty years ago are recounted in surprising detail by the niece of the murderess. Although we never get to know her (Faith) on any level other than a narrator, I felt like her character was suited to be mere eyes and a voice of the past.
As the story progressed, unexpected details emerged that made me give pause to the direction of the plot; many times I felt derailed and abandoned. My hunch at the beginning proved to be correct, though, and for that I was proudly satisfied with that part of the ending. However, with the remainder, satisfaction gave quick birth to irritation. This elaborate mystery ends with another, one which cannot be solved due to the events surrounding the first. It's a loose thread hanging from a hem and you can't cut it off. Three and a half stars.
As the story progressed, unexpected details emerged that made me give pause to the direction of the plot; many times I felt derailed and abandoned. My hunch at the beginning proved to be correct, though, and for that I was proudly satisfied with that part of the ending. However, with the remainder, satisfaction gave quick birth to irritation. This elaborate mystery ends with another, one which cannot be solved due to the events surrounding the first. It's a loose thread hanging from a hem and you can't cut it off. Three and a half stars.
dark
slow-paced
From the beginning of this book you know that a woman has been executed for murder. Vine then takes you on a twisty journey around a dysfunctional 1940s family to discover exactly how it all happened. I liked the way all the details were gradually presented, and I found the characters interesting, though at times difficult to keep track of (the family connections are highly convoluted). The secret that would eventually be revealed was built and built, but in the end my reaction was, "That's it?" By the close of A Dark-Adapted Eye I didn't think it deserved anything more than a 3-star rating.
challenging
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:
Yes
This was a bit disappointing. I came up with (what I consider) a better twist than what actually ended up happening, hence the disappointment, the whole thing was a bit of a struggle to get through because of my ongoing reading slump so I did feel a bit robbed by the underwhelming ending. It was no-where near as good as the only other Barbara Vine book I’ve read, The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy, but it’s not put me off trying other ones of her books.
My main take away from the book is that I still hate adults who underestimate or are rude to children, just because they’re adults and they ‘know better’. Some passages where the narrator is being made to feel stupid by her ‘superiors’ actually made me a bit anxious, and remember back to when I felt the same, and it made me want to grab the annoying adults by the shoulders and shake some manners into them.
My rating: ★★
You can find more mini-reviews, book tags, and other content on my blog: http://inkandpagesblog.blogspot.co.uk/
My main take away from the book is that I still hate adults who underestimate or are rude to children, just because they’re adults and they ‘know better’. Some passages where the narrator is being made to feel stupid by her ‘superiors’ actually made me a bit anxious, and remember back to when I felt the same, and it made me want to grab the annoying adults by the shoulders and shake some manners into them.
My rating: ★★
You can find more mini-reviews, book tags, and other content on my blog: http://inkandpagesblog.blogspot.co.uk/
My first book of 2016. One of my favourite authors, as well as favourite genre.
Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine always delivers what she promises to -i.e., toothy, dark, psychological mysteries, with lots of troubled minds and secrets, with a murder or two thrown in, which can be either immediate, or long forgotten.
This is the first book written by Ruth Rendell as Barbara Vine, and towards the end, she gives an explanation about both her names, which is as interesting as the story she has written.
In a Dark Adapted Eye, a woman murders, and is hung to death by law. It falls to her half niece to piece together the facts before and after the murder, to find out why she did what she did. Most of the book is from the view point of the niece, Faith, who comes across as a keen observer and an intuitive thinker.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, though I had to re read the first 10% as the initial events were difficult to assimilate, being jumbled in time and place. Once I got the hang of the story, there was no looking back.
Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine always delivers what she promises to -i.e., toothy, dark, psychological mysteries, with lots of troubled minds and secrets, with a murder or two thrown in, which can be either immediate, or long forgotten.
This is the first book written by Ruth Rendell as Barbara Vine, and towards the end, she gives an explanation about both her names, which is as interesting as the story she has written.
In a Dark Adapted Eye, a woman murders, and is hung to death by law. It falls to her half niece to piece together the facts before and after the murder, to find out why she did what she did. Most of the book is from the view point of the niece, Faith, who comes across as a keen observer and an intuitive thinker.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, though I had to re read the first 10% as the initial events were difficult to assimilate, being jumbled in time and place. Once I got the hang of the story, there was no looking back.