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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"A lot of people made this novel sound as if it were a psychological thriller, a total mind bender. It really isn't, more of a who-dun-it, and that left me a little disappointed. I thought this was suppose to be utterly frightening, the type of scary book that makes you read faster than usual, hungering for more. So as soon as I figured that it wasn't exactly a crazy thriller, I lowered my expectations.
This whole entire novel mostly consisted of Maeve Kerrigan, the female police officer/detective and a bunch of guys and her boss, Rob, Sam, and Godley. Kerrigan is smart and strong, likable, if you're into the sarcastic, strong headed woman who runs after what she wants and doesn't let anyone get in the way, including romance. I like that the protagonist wasn't a mushy female, it was a breathe of fresh air for me, however, she does have some empathy, she's not too cynical and Rob becomes her love interest. She's just a woman who loves her job and doesn't let the fact that she's female get in the way of it.
So what happens is that the there is a case called The Burning Man going on, a man is beating woman and burning their bodies, leaving them in the open space. After a short chapter of a woman stabbing a man out of fear, thinking he was the Burning Man, the novel spins out.
One of the last cases of the Burning Man is a woman named Rebecca Haworth, and after meeting Rebecca's friend Louise North, her ex-boyfriend Gil Maddick, and all of her friends and family members, I already started to aim my attention at Gil Maddick, thinking that he was the killer. However, Louise is a little too cold and suspicious, so right away you get the inkling that she had done it. However, Louise is a crazy lady, she's super good at lying and is able to peel off any evidence of guilt and trick the reader into thinking that she is innocent. The novel is written in two perspectives, Maeve Kerrigan's and Louise North's. Louise North's chapters were written in large text so they tend to fly by, while Maeve's chapters go on forever. My only problem with this novel was that it went a little bit slower than it should.
I don't want to spoil the novel, but it gets pretty obvious since the comments on the book cover t indicate 'twists' which I assume, means plot twists. So all I can say is that Louise comes off innocent, she's unlikable at first but then you feel sympathy for her because she had a pretty dysfunctional life and her and her friend Rebecca had both dealt with horrible men. She becomes unlikable when you realize that her motive is selfish, sick, and unforgivable She blames everyone but herself. Gil Maddick and Adam Rowley are both classic examples of 'bad people' but murdering them isn't exactly the best way to rid of their evil.
I kind of got tired of The Burning after 200 pages, it's likable but it becomes a bit of a chore to read since it mostly consists of interviews of suspects. It seems like I still haven't found a favorite crime thriller, mystery other than Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem."
Rest of review here:
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-burning-by-jane-casey.html
This whole entire novel mostly consisted of Maeve Kerrigan, the female police officer/detective and a bunch of guys and her boss, Rob, Sam, and Godley. Kerrigan is smart and strong, likable, if you're into the sarcastic, strong headed woman who runs after what she wants and doesn't let anyone get in the way, including romance. I like that the protagonist wasn't a mushy female, it was a breathe of fresh air for me, however, she does have some empathy, she's not too cynical and Rob becomes her love interest. She's just a woman who loves her job and doesn't let the fact that she's female get in the way of it.
So what happens is that the there is a case called The Burning Man going on, a man is beating woman and burning their bodies, leaving them in the open space. After a short chapter of a woman stabbing a man out of fear, thinking he was the Burning Man, the novel spins out.
One of the last cases of the Burning Man is a woman named Rebecca Haworth, and after meeting Rebecca's friend Louise North, her ex-boyfriend Gil Maddick, and all of her friends and family members, I already started to aim my attention at Gil Maddick, thinking that he was the killer. However, Louise is a little too cold and suspicious, so right away you get the inkling that she had done it. However, Louise is a crazy lady, she's super good at lying and is able to peel off any evidence of guilt and trick the reader into thinking that she is innocent. The novel is written in two perspectives, Maeve Kerrigan's and Louise North's. Louise North's chapters were written in large text so they tend to fly by, while Maeve's chapters go on forever. My only problem with this novel was that it went a little bit slower than it should.
I don't want to spoil the novel, but it gets pretty obvious since the comments on the book cover t indicate 'twists' which I assume, means plot twists. So all I can say is that Louise comes off innocent, she's unlikable at first but then you feel sympathy for her because she had a pretty dysfunctional life and her and her friend Rebecca had both dealt with horrible men. She becomes unlikable when you realize that her motive is selfish, sick, and unforgivable She blames everyone but herself. Gil Maddick and Adam Rowley are both classic examples of 'bad people' but murdering them isn't exactly the best way to rid of their evil.
I kind of got tired of The Burning after 200 pages, it's likable but it becomes a bit of a chore to read since it mostly consists of interviews of suspects. It seems like I still haven't found a favorite crime thriller, mystery other than Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem."
Rest of review here:
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2013/10/book-review-burning-by-jane-casey.html
Big Not For Me, with the dual narrative. The case itself I think had promise but the structure and the characters didn't do it for me.
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
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:
No
I can’t say that this was really stellar, there weren’t a whole of twists and I wasn’t gripping the edge of my seat. I didn’t care much for characters, they all seem a bit bland. And that last chapter dragged on.
I feel like it took a lot longer than necessary to get the story moving and then the ending was bland. I won't continue with this series.
This book has a good premise. Maeve wants to both prove herself and find The Burning Man. It was more then enough for me to grab this book to review. Especially as it is a debut novel.
In execution however the storyline wasn't enough to really hold my attention. Maeve might want to prove herself to her colleagues but first she has to not be so down on herself. Frankly I found that she whined far too much and quickly became irritating.
I did manage to finish the book because I accepted it for a review but otherwise it would have quickly hit the slush pile. I can overlook a lot in a book if I like the main character but that just wasn't the case here. I don't recommend THE BURNING to my readers.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
In execution however the storyline wasn't enough to really hold my attention. Maeve might want to prove herself to her colleagues but first she has to not be so down on herself. Frankly I found that she whined far too much and quickly became irritating.
I did manage to finish the book because I accepted it for a review but otherwise it would have quickly hit the slush pile. I can overlook a lot in a book if I like the main character but that just wasn't the case here. I don't recommend THE BURNING to my readers.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No