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thndrkat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
einstein7931's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
howattp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This first installment in the Cecil Younger series brings us into an engrossing world filled with rough, flawed characters. I’d not read any of this series before, and I’m curious if they’re all like this: it’s about the why rather than the what. It’s a murder mystery in which we aren’t so much finding out who did it (though that’s still part of it); it’s more about why it happened. I’m excited to read the rest someday!
meganc30's review against another edition
4.0
I read this (and the rest of the series) years ago, and re-read it recently. Cecil Younger is a good character, living in rainy, watery Sitka, Alaska. It's a good introduction to Cecil, and the rest of the series give us a hard-boiled detective in a unique place, and the book will interest you, and depress you, and make you feel the moss growing between your toes.
obnorthrup's review against another edition
2.0
Got this in a mystery box from The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. The plot and characters never really grabbed my interest, so I moved through the book pretty slowly.
tidwellcammy's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
susanatherly's review against another edition
3.0
The ending was a little weak but the journey to it was good. I really liked the characters and settings in Alaska.
tazurrrnov's review against another edition
4.0
Summary for myself: Cecil Younger, a semi-functioning alcoholic/private detective (I repeat myself) is hired by an elderly woman to investigate the death of her son, a case which has already been solved.
This book perfectly matched all of the expectations that I had for it based on the summary and reviews, and even still, I was pleasantly surprised! It is not often -- in fact, exceedingly rare -- for the character of a male private detective to come across as not only inoffensive and unthreatening but also actively pleasant, and the first time we meet Cecil, he is reading poetry and noticing ravens. I love him! Even though he notices woman and longs after "the woman who used to love me," he never lingers or objectifies, and I was very, very entertained and endeared by his poetic view of life, how he never seems to descend into bitterness or cynicism, just continues paying quiet attention to nature and his own thoughts. Also, a pleasant lack of being racist or judgmental in general, something that I find tends to mar many male-led detective stories.
The writing itself is very, very good. As clear and cold as the Alaskan air, I imagine. And Alaska is so fascinatingly depicted; I've always had a mild interest in the place because it seems so unfamiliar, America-but-not, and Straley does a phenomenal job of introducing it to me, the colorful characters in the towns and the bears and other wildlife everywhere else. The story was very easy to follow but not simple, I really enjoyed all of the supporting characters (Hannah and Cecil's dynamic is very fresh, especially considering what a tired cliche the bitter ex-girlfriend or ex-wife of the alcoholic PI is), and there were quite a few genuinely hilarious lines peppering the otherwise lovely prose. An excellent crime novel, and a very good novel in general.
This book perfectly matched all of the expectations that I had for it based on the summary and reviews, and even still, I was pleasantly surprised! It is not often -- in fact, exceedingly rare -- for the character of a male private detective to come across as not only inoffensive and unthreatening but also actively pleasant, and the first time we meet Cecil, he is reading poetry and noticing ravens. I love him! Even though he notices woman and longs after "the woman who used to love me," he never lingers or objectifies, and I was very, very entertained and endeared by his poetic view of life, how he never seems to descend into bitterness or cynicism, just continues paying quiet attention to nature and his own thoughts. Also, a pleasant lack of being racist or judgmental in general, something that I find tends to mar many male-led detective stories.
The writing itself is very, very good. As clear and cold as the Alaskan air, I imagine. And Alaska is so fascinatingly depicted; I've always had a mild interest in the place because it seems so unfamiliar, America-but-not, and Straley does a phenomenal job of introducing it to me, the colorful characters in the towns and the bears and other wildlife everywhere else. The story was very easy to follow but not simple, I really enjoyed all of the supporting characters (Hannah and Cecil's dynamic is very fresh, especially considering what a tired cliche the bitter ex-girlfriend or ex-wife of the alcoholic PI is), and there were quite a few genuinely hilarious lines peppering the otherwise lovely prose. An excellent crime novel, and a very good novel in general.
icapturethecastle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0