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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I so wanted to give this 5 stars but the ending really got me, and I didn't want to believe it. Mostly because I thought I had it all figured out up until the last few pages. At times this book was slow moving, but I really enjoyed the twists and turns and loved the author's writing style.
Ben tot ongeveer de helft van dit boek gekomen, maar ben er geheel tegen mijn principes in mee opgehouden. Ik kon er niet meer tegen. De hoofdpersoon is een walgelijk pedant mannetje en de schrijver waarschijnlijk ook. Hij krijgt zinnen uit zijn pen als: 'Een enkele traan zocht zijn weg van haar oog over haar wang.' Het kan zijn dat de vertaler er zo'n draak van heeft gemaakt (ik heb de Nederlandse vertaling gelezen), maar dat lijkt me niet. Dit heet een thriller te zijn, maar spannend is het niet. Als het niet zo veel ergernis bij me opriep zou ik alleen nog slaapverwekkend kunnen noemen.
I listened to this on CD and the reader was *wonderful*. A perfect reading. Really a great book, the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I thought the ending wasn't "perfect." But it was an intriguing story, well written, complex, and a clear view into another time and place.
A dark introspective murder mystery. Young man who sees Death and believes in angels becomes totally absorbed in the mystery of young girls being taken and murdered brutally.
There is a very serious work and hard to recommend again due to the subject matter. However, it is brilliantly written.
I don't hesitate to put this author on my short "to buy" list.
There is a very serious work and hard to recommend again due to the subject matter. However, it is brilliantly written.
I don't hesitate to put this author on my short "to buy" list.
What a disappointment.
Neither a thriller nor a crime novel, this was actually a very long, very slow, very self-centered piece of a pompous best seller... I still give 2 stars to the book because the man can show a gift with words (and I can't, ha!). Which I felt was showing off.
This is the second book I read by Mr Ellory and just the same as when I read A Simple Act of Violence, I was less than convinced by the knowledge this gentleman exhibits about what and who he is writing (apart from the writer, as he is one, and it would be very scary if he has actually based the character on himself: such ego proportions are not flattering). I have read other British authors whose books were set in the USA and none of them had Ellory's trouble with UK English vs. US English (please note, English is not my first language and even I picked up on that! There are copy writers who specialize in translating UK English into US English...). Or language anachronisms. I also doubt his "insight" in historical/social/war concerns of the isolated small town in the late 1930s or the 1940s, whether it is in the States or elsewhere in the world.
The places in the book, when described, have the flatness and unnatural tints of outdated package holiday brochures. There is one character only, who is so egotistical and absorbed in his own misery and unfounded greatness that he eclipses all possible interest in the rest of the story. Which is quite lucky in a way, because he seems to be the only aspect of the story that has been developed.
There is no reason and no explanation at all for the murders, the main character's obsession with said murders (come on, a child's promise is not an explanation), non-useful or awkwardly threaded historical information into the plot, no communication at all of the effect of those horrible murders on a small town community, predictable drama, a murderer dumped on the reader at the end and a "hero" who suddenly realizes that some details in his life were not mere coincidences (they were actually insignificant and inconsistent details in the long quest for an escape from self-pity).
I am, once again (and I should know better!), a victim of my own curiosity: I have read so many exceptional reviews of this book that I had to give in and read it. This has happened before and it will happen again. But I don't think I will read another book by R.J. Ellory.
Neither a thriller nor a crime novel, this was actually a very long, very slow, very self-centered piece of a pompous best seller... I still give 2 stars to the book because the man can show a gift with words (and I can't, ha!). Which I felt was showing off.
This is the second book I read by Mr Ellory and just the same as when I read A Simple Act of Violence, I was less than convinced by the knowledge this gentleman exhibits about what and who he is writing (apart from the writer, as he is one, and it would be very scary if he has actually based the character on himself: such ego proportions are not flattering). I have read other British authors whose books were set in the USA and none of them had Ellory's trouble with UK English vs. US English (please note, English is not my first language and even I picked up on that! There are copy writers who specialize in translating UK English into US English...). Or language anachronisms. I also doubt his "insight" in historical/social/war concerns of the isolated small town in the late 1930s or the 1940s, whether it is in the States or elsewhere in the world.
The places in the book, when described, have the flatness and unnatural tints of outdated package holiday brochures. There is one character only, who is so egotistical and absorbed in his own misery and unfounded greatness that he eclipses all possible interest in the rest of the story. Which is quite lucky in a way, because he seems to be the only aspect of the story that has been developed.
There is no reason and no explanation at all for the murders, the main character's obsession with said murders (come on, a child's promise is not an explanation), non-useful or awkwardly threaded historical information into the plot, no communication at all of the effect of those horrible murders on a small town community, predictable drama, a murderer dumped on the reader at the end and a "hero" who suddenly realizes that some details in his life were not mere coincidences (they were actually insignificant and inconsistent details in the long quest for an escape from self-pity).
I am, once again (and I should know better!), a victim of my own curiosity: I have read so many exceptional reviews of this book that I had to give in and read it. This has happened before and it will happen again. But I don't think I will read another book by R.J. Ellory.
Was guessing right up til the end, really enjoyed this book. I was glad I read a review which warned of disappointent because I too felt a little unsatisfied with no reason as to why, although I understand why the author chose not to include this.
This is a really good quality crime book which has more emotion and human experience than most in this genre.
The story of a man haunted by a series of child murders in his home town both captivated me and moved me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more of Ellory's novels.
The story of a man haunted by a series of child murders in his home town both captivated me and moved me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more of Ellory's novels.