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shelfimprovement's review against another edition
2.0
I'm giving this one up after the self-imposed 100 pages rule. It's moving too slowly, I'm not getting a sense of the main character, and there seems to be zero motivation for his actions. Also, he's too damn wordy when it comes to things like the movie the character decides to watch to remedy his insomnia. It's just not working for me.
joehartman's review against another edition
2.0
This is a difficult book to review, as I can see that the author has a great deal of talent, however, this book is easily a hundred pages too long. Around page fifty the ponderous details started to derail my interest, and I considered putting it down. What the protagonist ate, the friends he chatted with, his favorite musical pieces, the movies he watched... it's all in here, day by day by day. It really slows the story and brings any suspense to a halt.
The reason I kept with it? Im trying to turn over a new leaf and not desert books half way through, as I think it's becoming a bad habit of mine, but this was a slog. That said, there are some lovely passages especially regarding Grace, the object of our hero's obsession, and there are some really intriguing observations of human behavior, which lead me to believe some of his other works might be worth a try. At the moment, I'm a little too daunted by "Before The Poison" to try.
The reason I kept with it? Im trying to turn over a new leaf and not desert books half way through, as I think it's becoming a bad habit of mine, but this was a slog. That said, there are some lovely passages especially regarding Grace, the object of our hero's obsession, and there are some really intriguing observations of human behavior, which lead me to believe some of his other works might be worth a try. At the moment, I'm a little too daunted by "Before The Poison" to try.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
2.0
I ordered this book without realizing it wasn't an Inspector Banks novel. I decided to give it a try anyway, and I wasn't thrilled. It took forever to get started and the main character's motivations just didn't make sense at first.
mindsplinters's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. The plot was pretty cool, the murder mystery interesting, the rationale behind the murder unique, and it was a neat writer's conceit to include excerpts from the trial book and Grace's journal. But, oh, it all went on too long and there was so much padding. Every bit of food, every drop of booze, every note of music - it all had to be documented in excruciating detail. Plus the main character was every awful stereotype of a middle-aged man that you could think of. He was tactless and selfish and obsessed with comforts and never ever stopped to ask if he had the right to ask questions or stomp on personal boundaries. Honestly, he had all of the tact of a 5 year old when doing his "clever" interrogations. Chris asks questions like a tactless 4 year old and jumps to conclusions like a heartless tabloid reporter.
Although I will give the author points. It's not often that one comes across a Gary Stu who is about 60 or so.
Although I will give the author points. It's not often that one comes across a Gary Stu who is about 60 or so.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
Somewhat to my surprise, I really enjoyed this novel. Robinson manages to make an intriguing mystery out of nothing very mysterious. In the end, this is more of a character study than a mystery but there are certainly elements of suspense - and, of course, I appreciated the historical details.
chukg's review against another edition
4.0
Good, kind of like a cozy historical mystery. Lots of details about food, music etc -- two books in a row with classical music references mostly going over my head.
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
Peter Robinson has made his name with his Inspector Alan Banks crime novels. Banks is a brooding, intelligent detective inspector who loves music. In this stand alone novel, we meet Chris Lownes who has returned to his native Yorkshire after the death of his beloved wife, Laura.
Chris spent 25 yrs in Los Angeles as a composer for films - the kind of music nobody remembers as someone says to him. He hasn't retired, but he's decided it's time to reconnect with his native country. He buys a home in a secluded area, sight unseen. Soon he feels like the house is calling him for something. Then he learns that a couple lived there in the 30's through 1953, and that the woman was hanged for murdering her husband.
Soon Chris is convinced that the woman, Grace, did not murder her husband. Of course, it's never uncomplicated when it comes to Peter Robinson as Chris' investigation deepens. This has been described as "romantic suspense," reminiscent of Daphne DuMaurier.
I'm not usually a fan of romantic suspense, but this was so well written and surprising, I couldn't help but get swept up. I've always been a fan of Peter Robinson. I hope he writes another stand alone soon.
Chris spent 25 yrs in Los Angeles as a composer for films - the kind of music nobody remembers as someone says to him. He hasn't retired, but he's decided it's time to reconnect with his native country. He buys a home in a secluded area, sight unseen. Soon he feels like the house is calling him for something. Then he learns that a couple lived there in the 30's through 1953, and that the woman was hanged for murdering her husband.
Soon Chris is convinced that the woman, Grace, did not murder her husband. Of course, it's never uncomplicated when it comes to Peter Robinson as Chris' investigation deepens. This has been described as "romantic suspense," reminiscent of Daphne DuMaurier.
I'm not usually a fan of romantic suspense, but this was so well written and surprising, I couldn't help but get swept up. I've always been a fan of Peter Robinson. I hope he writes another stand alone soon.
t720psu's review against another edition
2.0
Basing my choice of this book on the blurb, it was pretty disappointing. It made it out to seem like a fast-paced thriller; in actuality it was a historical whodunit. It wasn't a bad read, just not what I was looking for
sallyeh's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm. I loved a lot about this book. It was a slow read because Robinson dictates everything his main character does down to the minutiae and includes a bunch of dialogue that neither serves the plot nor informs the character (a number of character including his new lover and her meddling friend could have been cut entirely.) However, the musical references, many of the supplementary characters, such as his brother and a couple of the old timers in the area, the descriptions of Yorkshire and the habits of its people, especially in contrast to the United States, were a joy. Wait, there was a mystery too? Yes, one that would have been more compelling had the character spent less time defending his desire to solve it, and one that didn't really take off until the 3rd section of the imbedded journal, but it was a decent why-done-it that would make a great historical novel should Robinson have opted to edit out the contemporary angle.