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stefhyena's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I tried to redeem this book in my own mind and not be swayed by the fact I was really irritated by the last book by the same author I read. I told myself a different genre might be better and my favourite genre is mystery...but about that! There was really no mystery in there. There's an ex cop and a cop and they are both morally grey in a way that is believable but where's the mystery?
Then there are too many coincidences and implausible connections. I tried to read it as a cross between Red Dwarf and Raymond Chandler (partly because Martin's whiny tone reminded me of Rimmer but sort of softened with elements of Lister- which is as bad as it sounds). I tried to see all the gritty negativity as like Philip Marlowe who I used to adore as a depressed teen (I might not like him now come to think of it) but the tone of every single character was whiny rich stereotypical boomer. There was no variety in this at all unless you count the cop who is a middle-class person in the lifestyle of a working class person...only not really because she is the boss and wears power suits. And Tatiana who is a real working class person (both careers) but is a 2 dimensional cartoon Russian spy not a full character (at least Gloria speculates that the Russianness might be fake, someone had to say it but it was sort of pointless to the plot- the fakeness or not). It's quite a long book with so many pointless flights of fancy, I think it's trying to be a psychological type mystery in the vein of PD James. Jackson did remind me somewhat of Dalgleish though I hated him slightly less (but he was still irritating).
There were 2 good twists at the end, both partially predictable but nonetheless very satisfying however both of these could not redeem for me the 500+ pages wading through reactionary whinging about how much better the (imaginary) past was and really annoying heterosexist stuff. On the reactionary ideology I felt that sometimes Atkinson almost managed to be reflexive about it (and start undermining her characters) but there is a basic disrespect for anything post 80s that comes through and we all have a relative with that world view and noone wants to listen to it for 500 pages...please try to at least understand what you are mocking.
Please!
Then there are too many coincidences and implausible connections. I tried to read it as a cross between Red Dwarf and Raymond Chandler (partly because Martin's whiny tone reminded me of Rimmer but sort of softened with elements of Lister- which is as bad as it sounds). I tried to see all the gritty negativity as like Philip Marlowe who I used to adore as a depressed teen (I might not like him now come to think of it) but the tone of every single character was whiny rich stereotypical boomer. There was no variety in this at all unless you count the cop who is a middle-class person in the lifestyle of a working class person...only not really because she is the boss and wears power suits. And Tatiana who is a real working class person (both careers) but is a 2 dimensional cartoon Russian spy not a full character (at least Gloria speculates that the Russianness might be fake, someone had to say it but it was sort of pointless to the plot- the fakeness or not). It's quite a long book with so many pointless flights of fancy, I think it's trying to be a psychological type mystery in the vein of PD James. Jackson did remind me somewhat of Dalgleish though I hated him slightly less (but he was still irritating).
There were 2 good twists at the end, both partially predictable but nonetheless very satisfying however both of these could not redeem for me the 500+ pages wading through reactionary whinging about how much better the (imaginary) past was and really annoying heterosexist stuff. On the reactionary ideology I felt that sometimes Atkinson almost managed to be reflexive about it (and start undermining her characters) but there is a basic disrespect for anything post 80s that comes through and we all have a relative with that world view and noone wants to listen to it for 500 pages...please try to at least understand what you are mocking.
Please!
greybeard49's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best ‘crime’ writers about!! Except the ‘crime/s’ are almost incidental or supporting acts. Really a book about the lives of the main characters depicted and a superb and often hilarious commentary on modern living and what it can throw at you.
Quality of the writing is excellent, particularly dialogue. So good!
Quality of the writing is excellent, particularly dialogue. So good!
catump's review against another edition
1.0
Very disappointing considering how gripping and multi-layered Case Histories was. This seems to fail as both a thriller and a literary novel, as it's not exciting enough to be a thriller and the general plot is quite dull.
mekavbev97's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
jwoodsum's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second in the Jackson Brodie series and my least favorite - although Gloria is a pip! Also, I liked getting to know Louise Monroe better. However, the last two in the series remain my favorites. Atkinson is an amazing writer and i Look forward to the next in the series.
hellastrong's review against another edition
2.0
Boy, was this a disappointment.
I've read Atkinson before (Life After Life) and enjoyed it, but these Jackson Brodie books are just not good. I work as an editor and this book CONSTANTLY interrupted my reading flow because she has some weird hangup about semicolons (my favorite punctuation mark!). She WILL. NOT. use them, even though practically every sentence she writes calls for one. She just scatters commas everywhere, willy nilly, where there should be semicolons and conjunctions and new sentences (oh my!). Come to think of it, that might be why she doesn't use semicolons: because to do so would call out the fact that nearly every sentence is a jumbled mess of run-on thoughts, all crammed together stream-of-consciousness style. I liked Case Histories reasonably well and hoped I'd enjoy the rest of the series, but no thank you. Brodie has not grown one whit as a character, and everyone else in this book (with possible exception of Louise) was just an annoying mess.
I've read Atkinson before (Life After Life) and enjoyed it, but these Jackson Brodie books are just not good. I work as an editor and this book CONSTANTLY interrupted my reading flow because she has some weird hangup about semicolons (my favorite punctuation mark!). She WILL. NOT. use them, even though practically every sentence she writes calls for one. She just scatters commas everywhere, willy nilly, where there should be semicolons and conjunctions and new sentences (oh my!). Come to think of it, that might be why she doesn't use semicolons: because to do so would call out the fact that nearly every sentence is a jumbled mess of run-on thoughts, all crammed together stream-of-consciousness style. I liked Case Histories reasonably well and hoped I'd enjoy the rest of the series, but no thank you. Brodie has not grown one whit as a character, and everyone else in this book (with possible exception of Louise) was just an annoying mess.
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
As mysteries go it's not fabulous, too many coincidences for my taste. However, the characters were so enjoyable that it was hard to put down.