Reviews

The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris

valefimbres's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

kraley's review against another edition

3.0

I liked the first one better, but liked that this story was rooted in a true story.

janetll's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book and the first well enough. It was entertaining and I was able to follow it. Just one bone to pick with it (ha!). Lady Lydia and Dr. Silkstone are way too perfect. Why does every rich, good, wonderful woman have to be gorgeous as well? And Dr. Silkstone is not only impossibly good, in this book we learn that his ancestors and family are also impossibly good. That said, I kept wishing Lady Lydia would take a hike, or that he'd give up on her, or that her peril would prove to be fatal. Oh well. It's not enough of a problem to ruin the book for me, and I will definitely read the next one. I'll just be hoping that these two can pick up a flaw, at least a token one.

meganstreb's review against another edition

3.0

So the answer is no, Lydia doesn't do much more.
Again an interesting story with a tonne of subplots. To the point where I started thinking that he should delegate some tasks.

booksnbotanicals's review against another edition

2.0

This book was a bit more than borderline ridiculous. I felt like the author tried to think of the most unlikely character pairings and hoped the story would be pulled together by its macabre twists. The characters were not more than mildly engaging nor was the story enchanting. Unfortunately, while I read this entire book, I will not be back for more. My stories need a little more meat in the bone (pun intended).

cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition

5.0

A 2013 staff favorite recommended by Thomas.

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sdead%20shall%20not%20rest%20harris__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl

bogbodyanon's review against another edition

Another fascinating book full of intrigue, though the plots are rather easy to figure out. One knows the murderers before Silkstone. Lydia finally reveals her biggest secret, the one she almost died to hide.

melissasbookshelf's review against another edition

3.0

I really like this historical mystery series. While I didn't like this as much as the first book, it definitely had twists and turns. The murderer was not one I suspected. Several of the characters in this book were real and I was fascinated to read about their stories. The author did a great job of weaving facts in with the mystery. Definitely will read the third book in the series. Kudos to Simon Vance the audiobook narrator. He did a fabulous job of bringing all of the varied characters to life especially with all their different accents!

claudia_is_reading's review against another edition

1.0

Okay, that was it, no more books in this series for me.

Seriously, the plot was absurd, the villains, again, were the freak and the working-class doctor, and presents as facts things that are not facts. The two main facts in the story were thrown up into it without any follow-up until they come back as a 'twist' *bangs head against the desk* I think this is the laziest plot I've read, and I've read a lot.

The romance took up most of the story, and the mystery only was back up-front when the author remember that Dr Silkstone was supposed to be saving a man's life. And Lady Lydia Farrell is... argh! her character is only consistent in her inconsistency and her plot-line is even worst than the mystery.

Spoiler

I mean, she was ready to commit suicide even when she knew her child was alive? How is that consistent with her later acts

.

Sorry, I won't be reading more from this author.

biscuitrat's review against another edition

4.0

It’s better than the last one, but I still have the same gripes about bizarre compound surnames and simplistic characterization. The book goes back and forth a lot to stretch the plot out, so it feels like people are constantly visiting each other in places to have the same conversation, BUT MAYBE THAT’S JUST BRITISH SOCIETY IN THE 1800S, IDK.