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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
I picked this one up because a coworker of mine was always talking about it, and has singlehandedly gotten a good number of our customers to read it too. I heard her talk about it enough that I got curious, and decided to pick it up and give it a try.
This was a solid beginning to a series, I'll give it that. It was an interesting mystery, a good cold case, and a great main character.
The main character, Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, was so relatable to me. She's introverted, and lives in her own little cottage. She loves her own space and privacy, and has two cats that she loves. She feels put down by her parents, and isn't always super comfortable in her own skin.
My main gripe with the book is that it normalised (and seemed to be completely fine with) people cheating on their spouses. I personally go, no thanks. That is the WORST thing you can do to your spouse.
I'm planning to continue the series, I'll give the next book a chance, but if the cheating continues to be a huge aspect of the character arcs outside of the cases, then I'll have to put it away and DNF the series. But I'll give it a chance to sort out that moral issue before I give up on it for good.
I picked this one up because a coworker of mine was always talking about it, and has singlehandedly gotten a good number of our customers to read it too. I heard her talk about it enough that I got curious, and decided to pick it up and give it a try.
This was a solid beginning to a series, I'll give it that. It was an interesting mystery, a good cold case, and a great main character.
The main character, Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, was so relatable to me. She's introverted, and lives in her own little cottage. She loves her own space and privacy, and has two cats that she loves. She feels put down by her parents, and isn't always super comfortable in her own skin.
My main gripe with the book is that it normalised (and seemed to be completely fine with) people cheating on their spouses. I personally go, no thanks. That is the WORST thing you can do to your spouse.
I'm planning to continue the series, I'll give the next book a chance, but if the cheating continues to be a huge aspect of the character arcs outside of the cases, then I'll have to put it away and DNF the series. But I'll give it a chance to sort out that moral issue before I give up on it for good.
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m excited to have found a new author/mystery series! This was well written and filled with suspense, danger, romance and interpersonal struggles and successes. A thoroughly enjoyable read
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Dr. Ruth Galloway is an archeologist living on the edge of a salt marsh in northern England. When bones are found on the beach, she is asked to date the bones and becomes involved with the investigation. Even with a couple of lame spinster-esque commentary and weird ideas about women and motherhood, I liked Ruth and her cottage and cats on the salt marsh. Interested to see where this series goes.
2.5☆
This just wasn't it for me. The author seems weirdly obsessed with Ruth's (the fmc) weight, within the first few chapters we learn her weight, her clothes size and the fact she likes colour but can't wear it because she's overweight and can only wear baggy black clothes (I mean how many issues can we pick apart here, number one being that, her size has literally nothing to do with her ability to do her job and adds nothing to the story what so ever
The writing itself was simple and flowed easily so as a quick read for when you just need something to do or an easy read for when you're ill I would say this would work. Just be aware that the plot twists aren't very twisty and easy to guess. To me none of the characters were really built upon, you never formed a connection with them so I found it hard to care what happened. Another issue I had with the characters is that there was no interpersonal relationships, the chemistry between characters just wasn't there. They were just set pieces that were moved around to progress the story, no emotional connections that made you feel like they could be real people. No character seemed to have concrete motives, not even the killer, who out of all of them really needs a motive to make the reader feel something, whether it be horror, disgust, shock or even in some cases that they can empathise with the killer, in this instance there was none of that. All the bits that are usually fleshed out that make a crime thriller engaging were really rushed to me.
Slight spoiler here:
I felt no chemistry between Ruth and Nelson, there was nothing that would lead to them hopping into bed together. That sexual tension wasn't there and after one scene I was never discussed again, never even mentioned until the end of the book where apparently Ruth is pregnant and not telling Nelson... I mean what is that all about. No chemistry a random pregnancy thrown in at the end????
Overall I'm disappointed, again if you're ill or on holiday and want an easy read that doesn't require you to think too hard, I'd reccomend this
This just wasn't it for me. The author seems weirdly obsessed with Ruth's (the fmc) weight, within the first few chapters we learn her weight, her clothes size and the fact she likes colour but can't wear it because she's overweight and can only wear baggy black clothes (I mean how many issues can we pick apart here, number one being that, her size has literally nothing to do with her ability to do her job and adds nothing to the story what so ever
The writing itself was simple and flowed easily so as a quick read for when you just need something to do or an easy read for when you're ill I would say this would work. Just be aware that the plot twists aren't very twisty and easy to guess. To me none of the characters were really built upon, you never formed a connection with them so I found it hard to care what happened. Another issue I had with the characters is that there was no interpersonal relationships, the chemistry between characters just wasn't there. They were just set pieces that were moved around to progress the story, no emotional connections that made you feel like they could be real people. No character seemed to have concrete motives, not even the killer, who out of all of them really needs a motive to make the reader feel something, whether it be horror, disgust, shock or even in some cases that they can empathise with the killer, in this instance there was none of that. All the bits that are usually fleshed out that make a crime thriller engaging were really rushed to me.
Slight spoiler here:
I felt no chemistry between Ruth and Nelson, there was nothing that would lead to them hopping into bed together. That sexual tension wasn't there and after one scene I was never discussed again, never even mentioned until the end of the book where apparently Ruth is pregnant and not telling Nelson... I mean what is that all about. No chemistry a random pregnancy thrown in at the end????
Overall I'm disappointed, again if you're ill or on holiday and want an easy read that doesn't require you to think too hard, I'd reccomend this
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Me ha gustado mucho, tanto el misterio como los personajes. Seguiré con la serie.