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caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
Every detective has to have her quirks, and Fi has them in spades - odd, intense, obsessive, and with an unexplained bout of illness as a teenage - but her voice is terrific. I was afraid that Bingham had given away all her secrets by the end of the book, but he's created a nice array of dangling plot points that will make for a smashing sequel, if it ever appears. Set in Cardiff, with a horrific climactic scene on the Welsh coast.
myrdyr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
While I enjoyed this book enough to keep reading it and to start the next one in the series, I can't completely suppress the disbelief I have that any modern police force would have allowed Fiona to become a police officer with her history of SEVERE psychological problems. I thought most organizations did psych evaluations to screen out people who might be ill-equipped to deal with the high stress/violent aspects of police work. Half the time, she appears to barely be functioning, so I'm not sure I can accept the fact that she would have been a successful candidate. I also agree with the observation in CarolinefromConcord's review that it seems unbelievable that her parents never disclosed her abandonment, even while she was hospitalized for a medical condition that is linked to early childhood trauma. The doctor's might have considered it relevant, don't ya think? As I parent, I would be mentioning every little paper cut to try and pinpoint the possible trauma, and they sit on the fact that she was abandoned? Not likely.
While I enjoyed this book enough to keep reading it and to start the next one in the series, I can't completely suppress the disbelief I have that any modern police force would have allowed Fiona to become a police officer with her history of SEVERE psychological problems. I thought most organizations did psych evaluations to screen out people who might be ill-equipped to deal with the high stress/violent aspects of police work. Half the time, she appears to barely be functioning, so I'm not sure I can accept the fact that she would have been a successful candidate. I also agree with the observation in CarolinefromConcord's review that it seems unbelievable that her parents never disclosed her abandonment, even while she was hospitalized for a medical condition that is linked to early childhood trauma. The doctor's might have considered it relevant, don't ya think? As I parent, I would be mentioning every little paper cut to try and pinpoint the possible trauma, and they sit on the fact that she was abandoned? Not likely.
pattieod's review against another edition
4.0
Compelling like Tana French. The ending of the case was a little "big" for me - too much like TV or a movie, but the writing was excellent, and the narrator's voice kept me turning the pages.
wendoxford's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars really. I did actually love this read about oddball South Wales female detective, Fiona Griffiths. Whilst I think much of crime fiction suspends reality to a degree, this went way beyond and I struggled to believe that such a loose canon of a cop, without firearms authorisation, went off the radar, carried and discharged a gun and was later "protected" by her senior officer.
Novel is written in the first person in an almost passive voice. I hugely enjoyed her stream of consciousness.
Straight onto Fiona Griffiths #2 to see if a touch more reality is injected now we have our protagonist introduced.
Novel is written in the first person in an almost passive voice. I hugely enjoyed her stream of consciousness.
Straight onto Fiona Griffiths #2 to see if a touch more reality is injected now we have our protagonist introduced.
katerino50's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
dhammond_x4's review against another edition
5.0
Really liked the story. Loved the lead character, and the involvement of Cotard's Syndrome. Kept me interested the entire time!
rebbierae's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting book--at first I didn't think I was enjoying it because the main character would say something I really didn't get, and it kept making me wonder if i missed an important plot point--so much so that more than once I went back and re-read the previous page. Until I finally figured out that was the author's style, to feed you bits and pieces, and the rest would come out later. Had an interesting twist at the end that I wasn't even sure was for real, until the author assured me in the afterword that yes, it IS indeed real.
I normally love "brit lit" and feel like I know lots of the slang, etc. but I was stumped a few times, as this book is VERY British. Some of the terms, I'm still not entirely sure what they meant!
Towards the beginning I really didn't feel very much for Fiona, the protagonist of the book--she seemed so cold and unflinching and I just didn't really care about her, which made it a bit hard to want to continue...but then literally in the turn of a page, I DID care about her and what happened to her, and I wanted her to 'win'--the case, the man, and in life as well! Now that I've finished the book I'm looking forward to Mr. Bingham's next novel so I can see how Fi is doing!
I normally love "brit lit" and feel like I know lots of the slang, etc. but I was stumped a few times, as this book is VERY British. Some of the terms, I'm still not entirely sure what they meant!
Towards the beginning I really didn't feel very much for Fiona, the protagonist of the book--she seemed so cold and unflinching and I just didn't really care about her, which made it a bit hard to want to continue...but then literally in the turn of a page, I DID care about her and what happened to her, and I wanted her to 'win'--the case, the man, and in life as well! Now that I've finished the book I'm looking forward to Mr. Bingham's next novel so I can see how Fi is doing!
kimgabriel's review against another edition
4.0
A lot better than I thought it would be. Didn't rock my world or anything but it was a quick, interesting read.
tunamunki's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75