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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
I'm really enjoying this one. I remember choosing not to read it when it first came out because of the switch in voice from present day to flashback; but I was without an audio book, so I picked this up from the library, and it's very good. Grafton (and Kinsey) is one of those authors that feel very familiar and comfortable to me, and this one, surprisingly to me, is one of her best.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Straying from Grafton’s typical narrative, in this book there are chapters from the perspective of other characters, rather than only Kinsey’s. Like a few other books the ending felt a bit empty. The motivation of the killer is not even mentioned. I tried thinking it through and it really doesn’t make sense. It seemed more like Grafton needed a killer and didn’t want to make it obvious.
Most important however: I rate this book low because of some pretty disturbing parts/language. One part is from the perspective of a 13 year old and her boyfriend. In modern times what she describes happening to her would be classified as rape. She is under the influence and Grafton goes into detail about how she wants her boyfriend, who is older than her, to stop what he is doing, which he does not. I think these parts of the books could be incredibly triggering to victims and I’m not sure why there was no warning about this. Compared to other books there is a lot more in detail descriptions of sexual activity which is not bad, but came up rather suddenly. It did not feel at the same level as other Grafton books and at times it felt like I was not reading a mystery book.
Overall good plot but I may need to take a break from Grafton/ stop reading here because of the aforementioned scene.
Most important however: I rate this book low because of some pretty disturbing parts/language. One part is from the perspective of a 13 year old and her boyfriend. In modern times what she describes happening to her would be classified as rape. She is under the influence and Grafton goes into detail about how she wants her boyfriend, who is older than her, to stop what he is doing, which he does not. I think these parts of the books could be incredibly triggering to victims and I’m not sure why there was no warning about this. Compared to other books there is a lot more in detail descriptions of sexual activity which is not bad, but came up rather suddenly. It did not feel at the same level as other Grafton books and at times it felt like I was not reading a mystery book.
Overall good plot but I may need to take a break from Grafton/ stop reading here because of the aforementioned scene.
The best of the series I have read so far.
A dual timeline which works very well. An enjoyable change from her previous novels and it makes the book have more depth, more maturity. Once again, however, motive is far from clear. Grafton has an annoying habit of explaining who the criminal is and how the crime was committed, but not too much on why.
Maybe not the most sensitive book by today's standards in certain areas.
A dual timeline which works very well. An enjoyable change from her previous novels and it makes the book have more depth, more maturity. Once again, however, motive is far from clear. Grafton has an annoying habit of explaining who the criminal is and how the crime was committed, but not too much on why.
Maybe not the most sensitive book by today's standards in certain areas.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
fast-paced
medium-paced
The story was well plotted and characters were developed. Then all of the sudden the bad guy was revealed and there was no motive clearly delineated. Frustrating.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot