Reviews

I read this book for a book club and I thought this was an interesting murder mystery but this wasn’t for me.

First posted on my blog here.

I thought the story could have been told better, it felt more like a story of a priest who sinned than a full murder/crime novel. I found it interesting as a whole but something didn’t quite click with me fully.

The mystery parts of the plot seemed to be sprinkled in amongst the rest of the story, parts of the story felt thrown in there because they were mentioned at the beginning but not again.

The author used an interlude, to explain who the murderer was without actually giving the name but this interlude completely gives the game away, because of all of this, you end up finding out the ending and working it out before the big reveal.

I will give this author another go.

chaz_dickens's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

ameliareeve's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I was genuinely shocked to find that this was published in 2020, as it used and reused mystery formulas with no new angle or fresh breath at all. This is especially true of the women, all of whom are "not classically pretty, but something in the strangeness of her features is alluring," a trope which has been thoroughly exhausted. Of course they all without fail throw themselves at the protagonist despite his having minimal personality or interest. Very frustrating. Murderer obvious by 50% through. Expected better of John Banville.

ztkatch's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

kmac2022's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

sarahholland's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I kept thinking that the author wasn't going to go for the obvious answer; surely he was more clever than that? But no, it was that obvious.

Curious to know if the use of the words such as queer or gay (plus a few others) were intended to be foreshadowing, of a sort. There's even a reference to Oscar Wilde. I do have some qualms, if they were intended, as pedophilia and homosexuality are not at all the same thing.

More...