Reviews - The Summer Children

757 reviews for:

The Summer Children

Dot Hutchison

4.14 AVERAGE

malfirion's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kaylamak's review against another edition

5.0

This book made me think about morals versus ethics. This series has blown me away. Mercedes' backstory is heartbreaking, and I wasn't expecting Vic to pop up. Once again, I'm glad each book isn't centered around the butterflies but does keep them relevant.

ambos24's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

aboard_the_readingexpress's review against another edition

2.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

Updated rating: Like the previous books in this series, this one feels repetitive, with similar incidents occurring repeatedly. One aspect that continues to puzzle me is the overly personal relationships the three agents maintain with the protagonists from previous cases. The survivors from the last two books, meanwhile, often come across as entitled, spoiled, and irritating, which makes these overly close dynamics even harder to accept. Are agents realistically allowed—or even encouraged—to maintain such personal ties with individuals they’ve rescued? The Butterfly Garden, Agent Eddison treated Inara terribly, displaying open hostility toward her. Yet, in this book and the one before it, all three agents are shown regularly calling her, sending her gifts, and even building separate homes for them in their property for when they come to visit. These relationships feel implausible, especially given the professional boundaries law enforcement agents should ideally maintain [Or is it normal?].

The book’s depiction of suffering, particularly involving children, is undeniably heartbreaking. However, like its predecessors, this instalment would have greatly benefited from tighter editing. Many sections of the narrative feel extraneous and fail to add meaningful depth to the story or its themes.

If Agent Ramirez was intended to be the focal point of this book, her background and development needed much more attention. Unfortunately, her character’s backstory is relegated to part of a single chapter, briefly discussed during a conversation with Agent Sterling. Strangely, Ramirez is portrayed as remembering details and maintaining consistent contact with Inara, Bliss, and Priya, yet she shows no recollection of one of the most disturbing cases of her career involving a child. Furthermore, she never followed up on the child’s well-being or maintained any contact who then went on to become a social worker serial killer like Dexter. This did not really fit. All in all, the first book in the series is the best of the lot.