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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
After reading this on the recommendation of a colleague, I was disappointed. I didn't feel like very much happened and I didn't really get into it or warm to any of the characters.
Good story, but it was rather long and tended to drag out in parts.
I received The Forgotten Girls, the seventh book in the Louise Rick series, from Goodreads and I absolutely loved it, so I decided to go back and read some of the earlier books. I have to say, compared to the seventh book, this one was kind of a let down. The story is really slow and bogged down with a bunch of personal problems and relationship issues, which take away from the interesting aspects of the case. Things really didn't pick up until maybe two thirds into the novel. This book felt like it dragged on and on without much actually happening. Also, the twist was pretty predictable and not at all surprising. It is clear that this is an early book, because the story is not as tight as the later books. There were multiple grammatical errors, which is understandable given that this was a translation, but overall the writing is pretty simplistic. The writing is not very complex, besides the really graphic rape scenes, which seemed to be included to make the story more interesting, an off-putting technique that did not work for me. I have to say though, that the title of the book was genius and I really liked the empowerment of the phrase once the story got going.
All in all, a good crime novel. The premise was a little brutal and hard to read -- rape and murder, but since the vast majority of the story was about the detective Louise's quest to find the bad guy, I was pretty into the story. Lots of twists and turns and not terribly predictable. Good story.
This was a nice change from some of the more gory "cold Northern European" crime fiction out there. There were certainly parts of the story which made me cringe, but that's the nature of crime. This book was just a little less forceful about it, even though the crime committed here is horrible and violent. It's pleasing to see a heroine as star of the tale, instead of a grizzled, worn-out man. Louise is a good choice to delve into the seedier side of online dating, trying to catch a raper-turned-murderer before he kills again, and perhaps closer to home. There are clearly more stories to tell for Louise, with hints dropped about previous cases and relationships, and I wouldn't mind reading more about her. The story is wrapped up satisfactorily, without the abruptness of an obvious sequel. Some phrasing seemed awkward, and sometimes the descriptions were overly wordy, but this could be a case of translation.
I received this book as a digital ARC from Netgalley.
I received this book as a digital ARC from Netgalley.
Ugh! This book is likehow I remember the Keystone Kops from the movies. Not only for the ineptitude of the police in this investigation of a rape, but also for the wooden personal lives of the ancillary characters. Very poor mundane reading.
I had difficulty believing some of the actions and feelings Louise had about her job..why did she call in sick at least twice during an important case? Why did she drink heavily when she suspected she was pregnant? Why couldn't she have the subway tapes enhanced (or is it because I watch too much NCIS?) Why did she immediately think and harp on Camilla that her best friend was dating the rapist? I liked the twist at the end, but I wish that Louise could have had a deeper relationship with Flemming or any character.
I liked this book. There were characteristics I really did not like about the protagonist, Louise, but I did like the storyline that included much detail about online dating of which I was previously clueless.
This novel was okay, but not great. Weak character development. Not much sense of location, except for the reference to the Tivoli Gardens, so that it could be set in any major city. I identified the criminal early on in the novel.