Reviews

Death on the Lusitania by R.L. Graham

goodbyeskyharbor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

josiesprobablyreading's review

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

carolinerd's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I usually enjoy novels set during World War 1, so I was keen to read this re-imagining of the Lusitania tragedy. I also love a good murder mystery so I was expecting this to be right up my street. Unfortunately, however, I struggled with this book. I was confused from the off by the sheer number of characters that were introduced in quick succession and whilst I did appreciate the list at the start of the book, I always feel that if an author needs to put in such a character list, it's pretty much an admission that they have got too many characters or that these characters aren't distinguishable enough. Once I had got to grips with who the main characters were, yet more characters and names were introduced and it wasn't easy to keep track of everyone.  

My biggest problem was that I just didn't take to any of the characters. Most were downright unpleasant and I just didn't care what happened to them. I didn't find the dialogue particularly convincing.  Do people really say things like - "I seized on everything that came my way with the enthusiasm of an opium eater" or "it was one bright spark of light in the echoing darkness of my soul"?  I wanted more action and less talk but most of the time the plot involved the investigator (who didn't have much charisma) wandering around the boat, asking repetitive questions of very dull men and women.  Plot-wise it felt like there was just too much going on for me to get my head round - arms shipments, gangsters, espionage, the political situation in Mexico - I got more and more confused about people's roles and motivations and it was hard to stay focused.

To be fair, the author does seem to have researched the historical aspects thoroughly.  It had the potential to be a very exciting novel, but for me its characters let it down.  To be fair, it did get more exciting towards the end as the ship finally met its grim fate.  As someone who has watched Titanic way too many times, I do appreciate a dramatic account of a sinking ship, and this part was quite well-written. Overall though,  a bit underwhelming.

mbookishbanter's review

adventurous emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

han2709's review

dark mysterious 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

2.5

katherine_e's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

tinuviel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

thebi_brarian's review

Have been "currently reading" it for weeks without making much progress. Think perhaps I'm just not feeling it.

hasanah's review

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

alysnow427's review

Gonna DNF here.  Normally this is absolutely my vibe, but it feels like it's trying too hard to be a Poirot copycat, and it's not working for me.  The characters are flat and many of them strikingly similar to one another, and the main protagonist doesn't have the needed detective spark.