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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
A bit of a slow-starter. Took until about the half-way point to really grab me, but worthwhile in the end! Lots of twists and turns right up until the end!
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Excrement, Vomit
3.5 stars. Very very slow build up but the location and culture were interesting and the mystery satisfying.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
ATTENTION ! Ce roman n'est pas un roman policier à strictement parler. Alors oui, il y a une affaire policière à résoudre mais, ce n'est pour moi pas le fil conducteur de l'histoire.
Ceci étant dit vous pouvez lire ce roman sans être déçus (si vous ne vous attendez plus à une enquête policière ;)). Peter May décrit l'Ecosse telle que l'on ne la connait pas : noire, pluvieuse, furieuse et ancrée dans des traditions d'un autre temps. C'est dans ce cadre lugubre et austère que Fin va revenir sur son passé après 18 ans de fuite. Entre retrouvailles pas très joyeuses, secrets et non-dits, amnésie et traditions plutôt violentes, il va devoir tenter d'élucider le meurtre d'une de ses anciennes connaissances et se confronter à ses fantômes. La tension monte progressivement jusqu'à qu'il devienne impossible de lâcher ce livre.
Première chose faite après avoir fini ce tome ? Réserver le second tome à la bibliothèque !
Ceci étant dit vous pouvez lire ce roman sans être déçus (si vous ne vous attendez plus à une enquête policière ;)). Peter May décrit l'Ecosse telle que l'on ne la connait pas : noire, pluvieuse, furieuse et ancrée dans des traditions d'un autre temps. C'est dans ce cadre lugubre et austère que Fin va revenir sur son passé après 18 ans de fuite. Entre retrouvailles pas très joyeuses, secrets et non-dits, amnésie et traditions plutôt violentes, il va devoir tenter d'élucider le meurtre d'une de ses anciennes connaissances et se confronter à ses fantômes. La tension monte progressivement jusqu'à qu'il devienne impossible de lâcher ce livre.
Première chose faite après avoir fini ce tome ? Réserver le second tome à la bibliothèque !
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Amazing Scottish accent!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Actually very good in terms of plot (the mystery, the murder and what really happened in the main character's childhood were really well told), but I'm not a fan of how women are portrayed in this.
I loved the plot, the characters, the atmosphere was amazing but women either only have a role of a burden (Artair's mother after her heart attack), a seductress (Marsaili, all of Fin's girlfriends, Donna) or a one dimensional mother figure (Fin's mother who was barely mentioned or his aunt who was just described as "eccentric and cold").
The men on the other hand were really well written which makes me think this isn't just how the author writes characters, it's just how he writes women. (I'm hoping the rest of the trilogy isn't as male-based).
Other than this, I loved everything except the ending which felt flat and easy compared to the rest of the plot.
I loved the plot, the characters, the atmosphere was amazing but women either only have a role of a burden (Artair's mother after her heart attack), a seductress (Marsaili, all of Fin's girlfriends, Donna) or a one dimensional mother figure (Fin's mother who was barely mentioned or his aunt who was just described as "eccentric and cold").
The men on the other hand were really well written which makes me think this isn't just how the author writes characters, it's just how he writes women. (I'm hoping the rest of the trilogy isn't as male-based).
Other than this, I loved everything except the ending which felt flat and easy compared to the rest of the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Car accident
3.5 е оценката ми. Може би бих дала и повече, но не успях да се гмурна изцяло в мрачната атмосфера, а и някои от обратите не ме изненадаха изобщо. Все пак бих продължила със следващата от поредицата.
This was more than a mystery. I was expecting a hard boiled police procedural. It wasn't. Once I got past that, I really liked it. And, it was set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, which I've always been enamored with. One reviewer said the bleakness of this book made her never want to visit there. It had just the opposite effect on me. I want to go all the more now. The barrenness of the land, the machairs and the rugged Atlantic coastline are beautifully described. It's a story of unrequited love, jealousy, redemption, tradition, and religion. I'm on board for the second book.