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trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
"I'm sure there are low points in everyone's survival journey. All the handbooks I'd read (one) had been at pains to point that out. But I don't know if they'd envisaged a shipwreck on a deserted island with a defunct book club and a random killer on the loose."
This one felt easier to read than the first, although the mystery was a little more confusing and hard to untangle. I did like the family and their quibbling and spats a little more. I loved the murderous dog more this time, as he seemed to be available to lap up anything that was red!
I found the complete turn around on the stance of the dad surprising. I liked the possible surprise at the end and the hint that there might be something more there. I thought the mom was a little nicer and mellow this go round and I did chuckle a few times. I'll look for book 3, I'm sure, and keep reading this series, just to see where it goes from here!
This one felt easier to read than the first, although the mystery was a little more confusing and hard to untangle. I did like the family and their quibbling and spats a little more. I loved the murderous dog more this time, as he seemed to be available to lap up anything that was red!
I found the complete turn around on the stance of the dad surprising. I liked the possible surprise at the end and the hint that there might be something more there. I thought the mom was a little nicer and mellow this go round and I did chuckle a few times. I'll look for book 3, I'm sure, and keep reading this series, just to see where it goes from here!
deanie's review
3.0
Actually 2.5 stars
The writing (sentence structure, word choices, phrasing) is generally very good, however, the plot is disjointed and jumpy, and it seems like the author put more thought into making the characters sound clever than actually being clever. The "Smart" women seem to be misnamed, because none of them are terribly smart in this novel. Also, for a murder mystery they murders themselves are barely described and almost seem to be afterthoughts. While I think this writer has potential, this book doesn't come close to living up to it.
The writing (sentence structure, word choices, phrasing) is generally very good, however, the plot is disjointed and jumpy, and it seems like the author put more thought into making the characters sound clever than actually being clever. The "Smart" women seem to be misnamed, because none of them are terribly smart in this novel. Also, for a murder mystery they murders themselves are barely described and almost seem to be afterthoughts. While I think this writer has potential, this book doesn't come close to living up to it.
ssejig's review
4.0
I didn't particularly like the first book in this series but I had already borrowed the second and third from Kindle Unlimited and the premise for the third had looked interesting on NetGalley so I went ahead and started the second book. I still wasn't impressed but read the last chapter (sorry to the people that hate this but it's what caused me to not DNF this book.) Like the first book (which I don't think you have to have read but I would highly recommend it even though I didn't enjoy it) this is told from the perspective of the narrator who has fictionalized names in order to keep people protected. This time, our narrator Ursula Smart has signed up herself, and her aunt and mother for a survival course. Of course, her mother's friend Mirabelle ends up coming along as does Bridget who no one had talked to since the events of the last book but who reads about it on a group chat.
There is still a lot of quibbling and fighting among the group but we actually learn some things in this book that were only danced around and alluded to in the last book. Other characters are annoyed by the fighting and it actually causes them to get onto the wrong boat in the morning. But no one realizes it until they are already out at sea with a storm raging around them. And then the boat goes under and Ursula witnesses a murder. There are two others who don't make it to the nearby island alive and everyone else are left with no food and very little shelter. But then the body count starts piling up...
There is still a lot of quibbling and fighting among the group but we actually learn some things in this book that were only danced around and alluded to in the last book. Other characters are annoyed by the fighting and it actually causes them to get onto the wrong boat in the morning. But no one realizes it until they are already out at sea with a storm raging around them. And then the boat goes under and Ursula witnesses a murder. There are two others who don't make it to the nearby island alive and everyone else are left with no food and very little shelter. But then the body count starts piling up...
flying_snow's review
The premise sounded good, but the writing style felt as though it had been written for eight-year-olds - and quite possibly by an eight-year-old. Cliches? Tick. Unnecessary adjectives? Tick. Parodic characters straight out of a pantomime or bad sitcom? Tick.
DNF, but forced myself to continue to the halfway point in case it got better. It didn't.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advance review copy.
DNF, but forced myself to continue to the halfway point in case it got better. It didn't.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advance review copy.
whatischellereading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After what happened in the Slaughter House where four ended up dead Ursula is determined her family will not be caught short again - it's time for survival training! Her family are not impressed with their latest adventure and even less so when things go from bad to worse!
This was just brilliant! I loved A Smart Woman's Guide to Murder so when I discovered our ladies were back with another adventure I couldn't wait to get started! Set in the picturesque, yet freezing cold, Scottish Highlands it is difficult not to be there with them - especially when the group remind me of my own family!! The comedy of the characters is like nothing else I've read - I literally had tears streaming down my face with laughter! With tales of mermaids, witches and ghosts mentioned throughout I did get a little bit nervous reading this in the dark! But it's okay, it's not any ghost or siren - it's just cold blooded murder!
So if you enjoy a main character prone to fainting, an auntie who is as dotty as the day is long, a mother who thinks she's in Dante's missing circle of Hell and a dog with a hilarious name then you need to get Body on the Island!
This was just brilliant! I loved A Smart Woman's Guide to Murder so when I discovered our ladies were back with another adventure I couldn't wait to get started! Set in the picturesque, yet freezing cold, Scottish Highlands it is difficult not to be there with them - especially when the group remind me of my own family!! The comedy of the characters is like nothing else I've read - I literally had tears streaming down my face with laughter! With tales of mermaids, witches and ghosts mentioned throughout I did get a little bit nervous reading this in the dark! But it's okay, it's not any ghost or siren - it's just cold blooded murder!
So if you enjoy a main character prone to fainting, an auntie who is as dotty as the day is long, a mother who thinks she's in Dante's missing circle of Hell and a dog with a hilarious name then you need to get Body on the Island!
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