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tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Body shaming and Fatphobia
hpnyknits's review against another edition
3.0
Ann, Ann, Ann! The story is ok, with the right amount of misdirection, even as there are so many players.
I liked the background about Hector, Vera’s father, and his friends. There were too many details that made no sense, enough to be annoying, but non more senseless as “The Proff” setting himself up in flames. It was not explained properly.
But the characters have become a cliche. How many more years will Joe and Holly be so insecure and fighting over Vera’s stingy praise? How much longer will Vera hold Joe’s family against him?
And Vera herself- she is only 55 in this book. Granted, overweight, and out of shape, but the author makes it sound like she is 85 and over her prime. Ha??? This would not be directed at a male detective.
I liked the background about Hector, Vera’s father, and his friends. There were too many details that made no sense, enough to be annoying, but non more senseless as “The Proff” setting himself up in flames. It was not explained properly.
But the characters have become a cliche. How many more years will Joe and Holly be so insecure and fighting over Vera’s stingy praise? How much longer will Vera hold Joe’s family against him?
And Vera herself- she is only 55 in this book. Granted, overweight, and out of shape, but the author makes it sound like she is 85 and over her prime. Ha??? This would not be directed at a male detective.
mjudleh's review
4.0
Great book - really enjoyed it until right at the end. Everything gets wrapped up but I found it too implausible, not enough clues along the way.
je18688's review against another edition
3.0
Once again, Ann Cleeves does it. I love losing myself in the mystery and this was no exception.
obsidian_blue's review against another edition
3.0
Well of course I had to hit a blip in my series read. This was not good. It starts off really well and at the halfway point it gets slower, but still held my interest. But I think the ending and resolution was what knocked it down two stars for me. It didn't sit right with me that the guilty party(ies) in essence get away with things and that one character is just cool with the fact that . Just one more book to go and I will have completed my series read.
"The Segull" follows Vera after she's forced to go and talk to inmates concerning the crimes they did and the impact on victims. One of the inmates is a former officer, John Brace, who knew Vera as a child. The two of them have long-standing ties since Brace was friends and ran around with Vera's deceased father Hector. The gang of four (made me think of the Christie novel) included Brace, Hector, a man named the Prof (who no one ever met/saw in real life it seems) and a 40ish year old man named Robbie Marshall. When Brace demands that Vera look in on his daughter and her children in exchange for the location of Robbie Marshall's dead body (Marshall disappeared more than 20 years earlier) she looks into the particulars of Marshall's disappearance in the 90s and the people that moved in his circle.
Vera is a bit off in this one at times. Being thrown information about Hector throws her and also worries her what her father was up to besides stealing eggs.
Joe and Holly are still front and center in this one and are tracking down leads. What I liked though is this one uses Charlie a lot more than the prior books and he shines in this one.
The cast of thousands (I am exaggerating) were not hard to keep straight. But I have to say that some of the motivations felt really off and it seemed that Cleeves had a great plot, but the resolution/execution were just half-hearted. I don't see Vera going for what ends up taking place in this one.
Spoiler
her birth parties are behind the murder of her estranged husband. I maybe went is this for real a few times at the end."The Segull" follows Vera after she's forced to go and talk to inmates concerning the crimes they did and the impact on victims. One of the inmates is a former officer, John Brace, who knew Vera as a child. The two of them have long-standing ties since Brace was friends and ran around with Vera's deceased father Hector. The gang of four (made me think of the Christie novel) included Brace, Hector, a man named the Prof (who no one ever met/saw in real life it seems) and a 40ish year old man named Robbie Marshall. When Brace demands that Vera look in on his daughter and her children in exchange for the location of Robbie Marshall's dead body (Marshall disappeared more than 20 years earlier) she looks into the particulars of Marshall's disappearance in the 90s and the people that moved in his circle.
Vera is a bit off in this one at times. Being thrown information about Hector throws her and also worries her what her father was up to besides stealing eggs.
Joe and Holly are still front and center in this one and are tracking down leads. What I liked though is this one uses Charlie a lot more than the prior books and he shines in this one.
The cast of thousands (I am exaggerating) were not hard to keep straight. But I have to say that some of the motivations felt really off and it seemed that Cleeves had a great plot, but the resolution/execution were just half-hearted. I don't see Vera going for what ends up taking place in this one.
dennisfischman's review against another edition
4.0
A very complicated mystery. Everything eventually ties back to The Seagull (an inn owned by some characters, frequented by others, and a place of employment for yet others), or "the Gang of Four," including Vera's late father, Hector Stanhope. We knew from previous books that he had an obsession with collecting birds, eggs, and other natural specimens AND that he was not scrupulous about obeying the law, but we learn a good bit more about him (and how Vera grew up) from this installment.
As so often happens in this series, good police procedure by Vera's team combines with her uncanny ability to get people to talk and her intuitive leaps into what might have happened to reveal whodunnit. I am not a good problem solver, but I defy anyone to say they had this one figured out early in the book.
What holds the plot together is the characters and their motivations. That also happens to be what I like finding out the most. Human beings are the greatest puzzles.
As so often happens in this series, good police procedure by Vera's team combines with her uncanny ability to get people to talk and her intuitive leaps into what might have happened to reveal whodunnit. I am not a good problem solver, but I defy anyone to say they had this one figured out early in the book.
What holds the plot together is the characters and their motivations. That also happens to be what I like finding out the most. Human beings are the greatest puzzles.
heatherems's review against another edition
4.0
Solid 4.5 Stars
The Seagull by Ann Cleeves is PURE GOLD for mystery lovers. At this point in the series, we know Inspector Vera Stanhope quite well. Her quirks, her family, her home and her neighbors, also her staff (the young Holly, the unshakeable Joe and the old stalwart Charlie).
The Seagull is an atmospheric mystery set on the shores of Whitley Bay, the actual home of author Ann Cleeves. Vera's connections to a convict previously in the police force lead to the revelation of a body that has long been a missing person case. Tangled threads of narrative appear in the best of ways, taking the reader back and forth through time, ensnaring Vera herself in a narrative from her youth and her father's companions who liked to bend the law. As always, Vera solves the crime with the help of her team, with a satisfying outcome.
This mystery series is really best if read from the beginning, the first [b:The Crow Trap|97569|The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, #1)|Ann Cleeves|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390709674l/97569._SY75_.jpg|94057].
Highly recommended for mystery fans who love the puzzle. Not overly gory, and no unreliable narrators here.
I reserve 5 stars for books that change my life or way of thinking, or are absolute top of class in the genre. The whole series together is a 5 star read.
Highly recommended for mystery fans who love the puzzle.
The Seagull by Ann Cleeves is PURE GOLD for mystery lovers. At this point in the series, we know Inspector Vera Stanhope quite well. Her quirks, her family, her home and her neighbors, also her staff (the young Holly, the unshakeable Joe and the old stalwart Charlie).
The Seagull is an atmospheric mystery set on the shores of Whitley Bay, the actual home of author Ann Cleeves. Vera's connections to a convict previously in the police force lead to the revelation of a body that has long been a missing person case. Tangled threads of narrative appear in the best of ways, taking the reader back and forth through time, ensnaring Vera herself in a narrative from her youth and her father's companions who liked to bend the law. As always, Vera solves the crime with the help of her team, with a satisfying outcome.
This mystery series is really best if read from the beginning, the first [b:The Crow Trap|97569|The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, #1)|Ann Cleeves|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390709674l/97569._SY75_.jpg|94057].
Highly recommended for mystery fans who love the puzzle. Not overly gory, and no unreliable narrators here.
I reserve 5 stars for books that change my life or way of thinking, or are absolute top of class in the genre. The whole series together is a 5 star read.
Highly recommended for mystery fans who love the puzzle.
knaglieri's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe my least favorite Vera book. I'm not a big fan of crime syndicate/mob stuff.