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jason_pym's review against another edition
3.0
Very enjoyable up to page 400 or so, then sprints to a disappointing and strained end.
missbryden's review against another edition
3.0
I was irritated at the beginning and actually got more interested as it went on. I do think had I read the audio book as I’d done with previous in the series I would have continued irritated. I thought, as with previous in the series, the author doesn’t like women, has maybe some internalized/institutionalized misogyny.
I know red herrings are a thing in detective novels, but does it have to be mostly red herrings? I did get interested in trying to follow and guess on the ultimate whodunnit but of course much of what was introduced, including new information towards the ends, had little or nothing to do with the ultimate crime. Other information felt like the author had all this knowledge/trivia that she wanted a story to put into.
Definitely pretty depressing overall, and Dalgliesh is not the detective on the case but has just gotten himself wrapped up by repeated proximity to a local crime. There was funny chapter/scene with a one scene character called Jonah.
Sort of spoilers:
I know red herrings are a thing in detective novels, but does it have to be mostly red herrings? I did get interested in trying to follow and guess on the ultimate whodunnit but of course much of what was introduced, including new information towards the ends, had little or nothing to do with the ultimate crime. Other information felt like the author had all this knowledge/trivia that she wanted a story to put into.
Definitely pretty depressing overall, and Dalgliesh is not the detective on the case but has just gotten himself wrapped up by repeated proximity to a local crime. There was funny chapter/scene with a one scene character called Jonah.
Sort of spoilers:
Spoiler
I kept wondering how old he’s meant to be at this point, when it’s contemporarily set in 1988/1989, and he’s been a senior officer since the first book in 1962. Rickards thinks Dalgliesh might have lost his wife and baby just 12 years before, when I was of the impression it all happened before the series. It could certainly be character error but I thought it would be decades before. The physical heroism seems a younger man’s game - but maybe I’m being ageist where others are misogynist and racist (Meg’s story was confusing: was her big fuss and escape from London over refusing to do racial diversity training when she believed she shouldn’t need to because she’d been teaching racially diverse classrooms for years?). I expected Alex to get a comeuppance but was disappointed - and why was he brought in with Dalgliesh by the MI5 men? And I thought Meg Dennison would turn out a baddie, but apparently she fulfilled the vision various men (at least Rickards and Dalgliesh) had of her. Although what was the bit at the end about remembering the mushroom cloud and the power station’s alarms going off but they’re being impressive and she still felt at home there on the headland.cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
Better than I remembered, and no more miserable and depressing than many of James' other books--although the setting is definitely bleaker than normal.
laurapk's review against another edition
2.0
The story didn't age well, was a little convoluted, and despite moments of true engagement was overall too devoid of emotion. This is the second book of the author I'm reading and I realize she has a trend of creating really despicable female characters. The main victim, Hilary Robots, is an assertive career woman, so obviously she's conniving, spoiled, heartless. There aren't many characters to love in this story, except maybe Detective Rickards (not sure I'm spelling his name right), which brings some emotion to the story through his back story with his wife. Otherwise fell a little flat. I understand that Dalgliesh meets his future wife in this novel. You'll realize who she is at the end of the book - and you might wish she's given more of a personality.
mcgrathprj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chaifanatic18's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
michael5000's review against another edition
2.0
A serviceable small-cast British detective novel set near a nuclear power plant shortly after Chernobyl, it suffers throughout from a somewhat fussy darn-these-modern-times pursing of lips, which naturally looks a bit mawkish 35 years down the pike. More importantly, there is a bizarre chapter at about the 4/5 point which, shall we say, breaks genre conventions, and not in a good way. I found that bit ever so slightly embarrassing to read.
git_r_read's review against another edition
4.0
This one didn't have as much Adam Dalgliesh as I'd have liked. I enjoy the ones where he works with his team more.
robynryle's review against another edition
3.0
I found this too crowded with characters which was maybe an attempt to convey a sense of place and community. But some of the characters seemed too much like types, and it was a bit gruesome for me, both in the sense of describing how characters died, and in actually describing the death of characters whom you've become attached to, rather than killing them off-scene.