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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
A bit slow in parts but I liked it. Cold case mystery and family stuff. Solid 4.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the entire plot of this book was a little far-fetched. While the mystery kept me intrigued throughout the story, the outcome was too hard to believe. It was just too long and verbose. The story should have been cut in half. Not my favorite Kate Morton book, but not her worst.
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have had this on my shelf for a while now and its a bit of chunkster and so I kept passing it over in favour of other things. When I saw it come free on Borrowbox I decided to take the plunge.
It is beautifully read by Claire Foy. Her voice is just so easy to listen to and I was easily able to listen at 1.75 speed. Testament to her diction.
It was a little slow to get going and at times I found my attention waining especially in the first 100 pages but soon I was invested and the last 5 plus hours I honestly couldn't stop listening. I had an idea fairly early in what had happened and whilst I was right about the major plot point there was so many other parts to it that I had not predicted so it definitly kept me guessing.
The end is satisfying but also one thing really irritated me and that was that Nora was a pretty awful person, both Mother and Grandmother. She is selfish, controlling and a liar and yet at no point do her daughter or granddaughter feel any particular anger towards her. I loathed her and yet the book seems to want us to feel sorry for her.
It is far too long and I think if I had read a physical copy and not an audio on 1.75 I would have got bogged down in this one and found it a drag. However I loved the setting, rural Australia really comes to life, the mystery, there was quite a lot of characters but apart from Nora they were interesting and enjoyable engaging.
This is my first book by this author and i have seen a few reviews from folks who are dedicated fans who say this is their least favourite so I am looking forward to trying more by this author.
It is beautifully read by Claire Foy. Her voice is just so easy to listen to and I was easily able to listen at 1.75 speed. Testament to her diction.
It was a little slow to get going and at times I found my attention waining especially in the first 100 pages but soon I was invested and the last 5 plus hours I honestly couldn't stop listening. I had an idea fairly early in what had happened and whilst I was right about the major plot point there was so many other parts to it that I had not predicted so it definitly kept me guessing.
The end is satisfying but also one thing really irritated me and that was that Nora was a pretty awful person, both Mother and Grandmother. She is selfish, controlling and a liar and yet at no point do her daughter or granddaughter feel any particular anger towards her. I loathed her and yet the book seems to want us to feel sorry for her.
It is far too long and I think if I had read a physical copy and not an audio on 1.75 I would have got bogged down in this one and found it a drag. However I loved the setting, rural Australia really comes to life, the mystery, there was quite a lot of characters but apart from Nora they were interesting and enjoyable engaging.
This is my first book by this author and i have seen a few reviews from folks who are dedicated fans who say this is their least favourite so I am looking forward to trying more by this author.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was looooooong....At more than 500 pages, the story slowly builds the back story of the central death/mystery. Not until the final 100 pages or so did it start to get interesting with the mystery finally staying to wrap up. Other people may enjoy the long, detailed buildup more than I did.
The author did seamlessly weave dual timelines and multiple perspectives into a well-structured and fluid narrative.
Both timelines are well depicted. While we follow Jess in the present day, past events are revealed through flashbacks from 1958-59 from multiple perspectives with segments from Daniel Miller's true-crime book and his research notes interspersed throughout the novel. We also get a few chapters from Polly's perspective, giving us a look into her complicated relationships with her mother and her daughter.
The vivid imagery, intriguing plot and great characterizations do make this an enjoyable read because you can very clearly picture everything that is being described.
As far as the mystery element of this story is concerned, there are plenty of breadcrumbs strewn throughout the narrative and you could begin to guess some parts of the direction in which the story was headed, I was genuinely surprised by some of what is revealed as all the threads of the story are brought together toward the end. The pacing is a tad uneven which did make the first half quite a mission to get through. The story does move faster in the second half.
This is definitely an intricately woven story that I would not hesitate to recommend to historical fiction fans and those who enjoy multigenerational family sagas with an element of suspense.
Wonderful character development (and there are a lot of characters), and story. A page turner and engaging storyline and flow. I didn’t love how neatly some things happened (Polly being a dinner guest in Tambilla for example) and didn’t really contribute to the story.
Once you find out what happened you are left with a sadness - Meg was so lovely but in actuality a callous, calculating murderer. Isabel was a truly lovely person who struggled to live so alone and then had the lasting legacy of killing herself and her children. So little time is left with these realizations, which fit well because they 60 years ago and what can be done?
Once you find out what happened you are left with a sadness - Meg was so lovely but in actuality a callous, calculating murderer. Isabel was a truly lovely person who struggled to live so alone and then had the lasting legacy of killing herself and her children. So little time is left with these realizations, which fit well because they 60 years ago and what can be done?
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The storyline is really nice and the beginning is so good, but it moves so so slowly as I think there’s just too much description and quite a lot of repetition. Started reading the first sentence of each paragraph to know if I needed to read the full. Figured out the baby was Issy’s quite early on. Really wanted to love it.