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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very run-of-the-mill police procedural that offered nothing new. We have the protagonist, a gung-ho, prickly, divorced female detective whose career has been sidetracked from the Met to rural Kent because of an affair with a fellow married officer. She has the problem teenage daughter, the fraught relationship with her mother and an over dependence on alcohol. This has been done to death. Two murder victims found in marshland and a farm pit, both unable to be identified. Multiple threads criss-crossing illegal immigrants, vagrant women, historic and current arson, drug addiction and family estrangement. A lot going on but none of it edge-of-the-page stuff. But what stood out most in this book were the editing errors. Dozens of them - typos, grammatical errors, characters’s names mixed up…
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very good police procedural murder mystery thriller with a great main character. Although this is billed as book 1, I recommend starting with The Birdwatcher, which takes place earlier and, although told mainly from the perspective of another police officer, introduces the characters of this series and sets them up. I think you miss something if you skip over that book.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Salt Lane by William Shaw
No-one knew their names, the bodies found in the water. There are people here, in plain sight, that no-one ever notices at all.
DS Alexandra Cupidi has done it again. She should have learnt to keep her big mouth shut, after the scandal that sent her packing - resentful teenager in tow - from the London Met to the lonely Kent coastline. Even murder looks different in this landscape of fens, ditches and stark beaches, shadowed by the towers of Dungeness power station. Murder looks a lot less pretty.
I listened to this as an audiobook - it gets off to a slow start but swiftly turns into a gripping plot. I thought that this was a well-written book that left me wanting more. Whilst I enjoyed the main plot surrounding the murders of multiple victims, I found myself wanting to know more about Alex and the relationship she had with both her mother and her daughter.
Rating 4/5
No-one knew their names, the bodies found in the water. There are people here, in plain sight, that no-one ever notices at all.
DS Alexandra Cupidi has done it again. She should have learnt to keep her big mouth shut, after the scandal that sent her packing - resentful teenager in tow - from the London Met to the lonely Kent coastline. Even murder looks different in this landscape of fens, ditches and stark beaches, shadowed by the towers of Dungeness power station. Murder looks a lot less pretty.
I listened to this as an audiobook - it gets off to a slow start but swiftly turns into a gripping plot. I thought that this was a well-written book that left me wanting more. Whilst I enjoyed the main plot surrounding the murders of multiple victims, I found myself wanting to know more about Alex and the relationship she had with both her mother and her daughter.
Rating 4/5
I’m sorry, I’m so bored. I don’t think I’ve ever been this bored reading a book, especially a MURDER MYSTERY, which is supposed to keep you entertained. All of the characters are boring, the plot is so dry and confusing, and I just can’t do it anymore. I was trying my best to cram in some books before the end of the year so I could complete my challenge, but I just have too much going on that I can’t do it. Oh well, I tried my best. I hope I can do better next year.