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alisonb's review against another edition
5.0
I could not put this book down! A great murder mystery with a smattering of social commentary and a cast of interesting characters.
emmamoon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
eparsons516's review against another edition
3.0
Felt like watching Masterpiece Mystery
My only caveat was the ending. We find out who did it in the last three pages, and there wasn’t much of a resolution. Could’ve used one more chapter.
Also, I called the ending about halfway through
My only caveat was the ending. We find out who did it in the last three pages, and there wasn’t much of a resolution. Could’ve used one more chapter.
Also, I called the ending about halfway through
terrik_409's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
suflet's review against another edition
2.0
In terms of subjective enjoyment, this book was pretty decent. Although the romance was a bit vague for modern standards, it kind of makes sense given that it was written in the 70s (not in the 2010s as Amazon would have me believe. I assume that date applies to the digital republication). Nevertheless, the romance was sweet. The mystery was interesting and kept me guessing. I would say that I was a little disappointed that Charlotte, the main character, does not actually do very much investigating but then neither does Inspector Pitt (at least not on the page, he did lots of investigating off the page) so what I realized was that it's just not an "investigative mystery" type of story. I enjoyed it.
I do have one major beef (cw: homophobia), which is profoundly spoilery so if you don't wish to read it, go no further:
The serial killer kills because she's a deeply repressed lesbian who hates that she's attracted to the girls she's attracted to and so murders them. Granted, this was only revealed on the last page or so, so it didn't spoil too much of the book for me, because I assure you I would have DNFed at that point if it had come earlier. Is a story with a queer villain automatically homophobic or transphobic? Not in my opinion. I'm queer and consume a lot of queer media and have loved a number of amazing queer villains. If the serial killer had not been the only queer person in the book, that would have been better. The book had a strong theme of "we are products of our circumstances so we should empathize with criminals" which could have made for a "society was so cruel and homophobic to her it drove her to murder" story but instead it's implied that she became murderous as a product of lacking love from her husband, presumably because 1) he's a man and 2) he's a terrible guy.
So if you're queer and want to avoid period-typical (1970s) homophobia which goes unacknowledged in the story, maybe skip this one. If, like me, it won't ruin the story for you but just leave a bad taste in your mouth, go for it.
I do have one major beef (cw: homophobia), which is profoundly spoilery so if you don't wish to read it, go no further:
The serial killer kills because she's a deeply repressed lesbian who hates that she's attracted to the girls she's attracted to and so murders them. Granted, this was only revealed on the last page or so, so it didn't spoil too much of the book for me, because I assure you I would have DNFed at that point if it had come earlier. Is a story with a queer villain automatically homophobic or transphobic? Not in my opinion. I'm queer and consume a lot of queer media and have loved a number of amazing queer villains. If the serial killer had not been the only queer person in the book, that would have been better. The book had a strong theme of "we are products of our circumstances so we should empathize with criminals" which could have made for a "society was so cruel and homophobic to her it drove her to murder" story but instead it's implied that she became murderous as a product of lacking love from her husband, presumably because 1) he's a man and 2) he's a terrible guy.
So if you're queer and want to avoid period-typical (1970s) homophobia which goes unacknowledged in the story, maybe skip this one. If, like me, it won't ruin the story for you but just leave a bad taste in your mouth, go for it.
bluehazelnut's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
tunderalma87's review against another edition
2.0
Surprisingly character driven mystery, mainly focused on how can one family deal with the consequences of crime spree. Really liked it, except the reveal and the motive. It shows its age, and reading it now this was really disconcerning, for some maybe triggering.
drpig's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0