Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
I was quite disappointed by this book, knowing Rendell's reputation I expected a gripping and tense story with characters that I could sympathise with or love to hate. Instead I found the story only mildly engrossing and many of the characters intensely shallow or incredibly irritating. I found Burden particularly annoying and spent pretty much the entire book want to give him a good hard slap while telling him to get a grip (which I doubt is how Rendell wanted him to come across). The only saving grace of the book is the underlying stories behind the disappearances of Stella and John and the humanity and sense of loss these hold, and had these been a bigger part of the book it would've been far better. Overall a bit of a disappointment but hinting at something better.
I couldn’t quite follow this story for some reason, but I blame myself as I think I read it too quickly.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I devoured this one, and the ending wasn't what I expected, which is always refreshing. Love Inspector Wexford and Mike Burden, although Burden does deserve a good kick in the head for most of this book.
Wondering if the series will end in a bloodbath:
Burden strung up by his underlings at the cop shop.
Wexford burnt on a pyre of the pompous b*ggers book of quotes.
A reasonable listen, should concentrate more for clues, see if crimes deducible.
Surely not two pipe problems!
Burden strung up by his underlings at the cop shop.
Wexford burnt on a pyre of the pompous b*ggers book of quotes.
A reasonable listen, should concentrate more for clues, see if crimes deducible.
Surely not two pipe problems!
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One child, a twelve-year-old girl, has been missing for several months. Now, another child, a five-year-old boy, has disappeared, and Inspector Wexford fears that time is running out. This is an excellent mystery/crime story (it kept me guessing right up until the end), but it's almost more of a character study as we get inside the head of Inspector Burden, Wexford's aptly named colleague. Burden's wife has recently passed away, and he is consumed with grief and anger, causing him to react to the case in an unpredictable manner.
I liked the way in which this novel explores the character of Mike Burden, who has been portrayed as hard and somewhat puritanical. His inability to understand human frailties goes along with his ignorance of literature. At the beginning of this novel, Burden has lost his wife Jean to cancer and can think only of his own misery. He ignores his children and his sister-in-law Grace, who has come to help out after her sister's death. All this changes when he meets Gemma Lawrence, whose son has disappeared. Burden disapproves of Gemma, but Gemma leads him out of his depression. Meanwhile, Wexford solves the murder of a young girl, which he thinks might be related to the disappearance of Gemma's son.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes