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cutenanya's review against another edition
4.0
Actual Rating is 3.5 stars. I like all of the characters in this book, even the villains, except for one, whom I hate from the bottom of my heart. However, I have serious doubts in the friendship between Crowther and Westerman. I am not well versed in the history of pre-Victorian England, but I seriously wonder if the way Crowther and Westerman interacted in this book would be tolerated by the English society in the 18th century, around the time of the War of Independence in America. It probably would be more believable had Mrs. Westerman been widowed but for a woman whose husband is at sea, Mrs. Westerman certainly was very bold. And the ending, no spoilers but it did remind me of Charlotte Bronte, and the epilogue kind of tore my heart out. Aside from this point, the mystery was okay, and as many reviewers had pointed out, it is more a why-dun-it than a who-dun-it.
curiousnico's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book as a goodreads first reads, which in itself is always exciting. I tend to judge books by their covers, despite the fact that people always advise against doing so. I don't really see why they do because its always the cover that draws your attention to the book. Everyone does it whether they admit it or not, and its not until after reading the back that you'll discover if you're interested in reading it or not. Either way, it was the cover that snagged my attention. It looked interesting and mysterious, and it pulled me in. upon further examination I learned what it was about and it peaked my interested just a enough to get me to enter.
I wound up reading it on a plane ride to california, and like all books of its type I felt fidgety, I wanted to know every detail before I got there. I found myself wanting to jump toward the middle, to the end when i was hardly that far into it. In the moment its rather annoying, but afterward you realize that when a book has you acting that way, then its clearly a good book. At least in my opinion.
It took a bit at the start to really reel me in, but once it did, I was hooked! Like with all the best books, Instruments introduces you to the characters, and then takes you on a journey where you learn and discover them on a deeper level than you thought possible. You start to blend your emotions with theirs, and soon enough you are feeling what any friend would in the situations given.
I wound up reading it on a plane ride to california, and like all books of its type I felt fidgety, I wanted to know every detail before I got there. I found myself wanting to jump toward the middle, to the end when i was hardly that far into it. In the moment its rather annoying, but afterward you realize that when a book has you acting that way, then its clearly a good book. At least in my opinion.
It took a bit at the start to really reel me in, but once it did, I was hooked! Like with all the best books, Instruments introduces you to the characters, and then takes you on a journey where you learn and discover them on a deeper level than you thought possible. You start to blend your emotions with theirs, and soon enough you are feeling what any friend would in the situations given.
lisasibbett's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
avl_book_girl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
A very enjoyable forensic type historical mystery set in England during the Georgian era. The plot runs along two parallel paths, one in London during the Gordon riots and the other in the countryside of West Sussex, with flashbacks to the Revolutionary War so there was a lot going on but it was all handled nicely by the narrator of the audio Wanda McCaddon though the scene shifts were rather abrupt at times.
jenpenbuck's review against another edition
5.0
It started a bit slow, but then became a total page turner!
bkdrgn303's review against another edition
4.0
Actually, I give this one 3.5 stars because while it was well-written and compelling, it did tend to bog down at times. Definitely an author I will be watching because I really liked the two main characters.
gaderianne's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book when Borders was going out of business. I'm so glad that I picked this one up. It was a good historical mystery - although the connections between the multiple murders and the who-dun-it reveal unsurprising. However, the details were good and I loved the sections in the book about the American Revolution (or should I say the America Rebellion) from the British point of view.
michael5000's review against another edition
2.0
If you are going to take on Charles Dickens on his home court, writing something that begs comparison to one of his novels, "Barnaby Rudge" is a good choice to pit yourself against. It's not one of his greatest. But it does pretty much own London's "Gordon Riots" of 1780, in literary terms, so you have to admire the gumption of someone setting another gothic tale of mysterious parentage and rural melodrama against them.
"Instrument of Darkness" has the ingredients of a fine mystery novel. Its caper is capably constructed and its more-or-less-detectives are novel and likable. It did a poor job, alas, of holding my attention.
The audiobook version I listened to, although read quite well by Wanda McCaddon, suffered from a serious production flaw: in a book that has frequent changes of scene as well as a plot line told in flashback, there was not the slightest pause to alert the listener to section breaks. It may not sound like a big deal, but in practice it was extremely disorienting.
"Instrument of Darkness" has the ingredients of a fine mystery novel. Its caper is capably constructed and its more-or-less-detectives are novel and likable. It did a poor job, alas, of holding my attention.
The audiobook version I listened to, although read quite well by Wanda McCaddon, suffered from a serious production flaw: in a book that has frequent changes of scene as well as a plot line told in flashback, there was not the slightest pause to alert the listener to section breaks. It may not sound like a big deal, but in practice it was extremely disorienting.