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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
I'm really enjoying this series. I appreciate how the author is developing the relationship of the main characters slowly, and without demonizing their current partners. I'm also a sucker for a mystery series with a strong sense of place.
I’m sorry to say this book is a mess. I wanted to like it. I kept reading because the story line between 2 of the major characters interests me. But in terms of a mystery… the writing feels rushed. Some characters are not fleshed out enough; others have mood swings so severe as to be implausible. The garden in question is sketched in with a dubious explanation for its existence. Instead of being atmospheric, it left this reader wondering why go into it at all. It wasn’t germane to the plot.
The setting is well-delineated, and the 2 main characters are well drawn. It all feels a bit doughy, though. Am reading The Arsenic Labyrinth now. Here’s hoping…
The setting is well-delineated, and the 2 main characters are well drawn. It all feels a bit doughy, though. Am reading The Arsenic Labyrinth now. Here’s hoping…
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoying this series. I like the two main characters and the setting very much, and enjoy the way the books have a cold case intertwined with some other mystery or puzzle that Daniel is trying to work out. Look forward to reading the next one.
Well constructed and engrossed; a good mystery. But the end of the problem was very messy emotionally and devastating to all of the participants; its as if Edwards decided to inflict the most trauma possible on the characters in the novel. It hangs together, as much as solving cold cases does - and Daniel also solves the cipher of his garden in the cottage, so that bit of historical delving also works out.
A fairly solid, fairly slow-paced, very English murder mystery slash police procedural (lite). It reminded me a little of Ann Cleeve’s first book (Crow Trap) — very slow burn, not a heightened sense of suspense, but a fairly well-honed ability to write setting & characters in a manner that allows suspension of disbelief and immersion into the story.
This was my first book by Edwards but it most likely will not be my last (let’s be real — I do get distracted often by other “shinies” but I had no dislikes strong enough to put this author on my “banned” list!).
This was my first book by Edwards but it most likely will not be my last (let’s be real — I do get distracted often by other “shinies” but I had no dislikes strong enough to put this author on my “banned” list!).
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was not extremely gripping but I loved the ending!
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced