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k_cavacini's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this third book in the series was much better than the second. Maybe because the mystery is personal for Lily again, I felt more invested in the story and the eventual resolution.
alibi313's review against another edition
2.0
Whodunits For Dummies. I've never listened to a book before where snippets of conversations were repeated ad nauseam--as if the reader/listener were incapable of keeping track of the "complicated" plot without constant updates. Sorry, but that wasn't really a problem--Scooby Doo had more complex mysteries.
And then there's the romance novel portion, which took up about one entire disc (out of 8). Tepid at best and didn't advance the plot. Waste of time; could've skipped it without missing anything.
The narration did the book no favors, as it sounded like a junior high drama performance, complete with overdone accents (including an excruciating Asian "tiger mother" impression which should have been left to Margaret Cho). Of course, considering the amateurish writing, perhaps the narrator was doing her best to liven up the source material. Apparently, this is part of a series. Often, when I inadvertently pick up a book mid-series, I'll be intrigued enough to go back and read the earlier works. Not gonna happen this time.
And then there's the romance novel portion, which took up about one entire disc (out of 8). Tepid at best and didn't advance the plot. Waste of time; could've skipped it without missing anything.
The narration did the book no favors, as it sounded like a junior high drama performance, complete with overdone accents (including an excruciating Asian "tiger mother" impression which should have been left to Margaret Cho). Of course, considering the amateurish writing, perhaps the narrator was doing her best to liven up the source material. Apparently, this is part of a series. Often, when I inadvertently pick up a book mid-series, I'll be intrigued enough to go back and read the earlier works. Not gonna happen this time.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2013 staff fiction favorite recommended by Jane.
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sgirl%20next%20door%20parks__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sgirl%20next%20door%20parks__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
vdarcangelo's review against another edition
4.0
If I were writing a one-word review of Hilary Davidson’s Evil in All Its Disguises, released March 5, that word would be: incongruous. And it would be a massive compliment.
In this subtle crime novel, the third in the Lily Moore series, Davidson drops us in an Escher-like room of distorted realities. Everything looks normal, just slightly askew, and it’s these atmospheric incongruities that make Evil such an enjoyable read.
For series initiates, such as myself, Lily Moore is a travel writer with a checkered past: a mentally unstable family history; a deceased, junkie sister; a quasi-gangster business tycoon ex who will do anything to get her back. This is the baggage she takes with her to Acapulco to review the once-glamorous Hotel Cerón.
It’s nothing unusual: just another press junket with a circle of travel writers, and a PR flak, she’s known for years. Yet, when she arrives at the hotel, Moore is surprised to find it in disrepair, and disturbed to learn that one of her closest friends on the trip, Skye, is in over her head on an investigative piece. During their brief and baffling conversation, Skye expresses concern for her safety, and then steps away to take a call.
And so the unraveling begins. Skye doesn’t return from that phone call, and nobody at the isolated resort seems concerned. Through her exploration, Lily learns that the hotel is a recent acquisition by her ex’s company, manned by his henchman, Gavin, and before long she realizes she’s been lured to the Hotel Cerón under false and deadly pretenses.
There is a breathless quality to the prose that I enjoyed. The action is tightly contained (the plot unfolds in around 48 hours), and, from one chapter to the next, I couldn’t put it down. Aside from a superfluity of internal dialogue and redundant flashbacks, the writing is well-paced and tightly organized, and Davidson manages to give us a tour of the resort, including the unfinished bungalows, the empty wings and even the rotting interior, without feeling like a travelogue—probably due to her actual background as a travel writer. (To my fellow gluten-intolerants I recommend her Gluten-Free Guidebook blog.)
But as with a travel review, the pros must be weighed against the cons. Evil suffers from an overload of plot twists. The phrase “trust no one” certainly applies. This isn’t all bad, as the finer twists reveal character complexity (and that delicious incongruity). But as the plot turns pile up, they begin to lose credibility.
Evil diverges from the transgressive and brutal horror literature usually reviewed in this space. There’s a cozy quality to the story that is actually kind of refreshing. The book kept me up at night not because it was disturbing, but because it was engaging.
I predict big things for this book, and I’m sure it will earn a deserved place on the best-seller list.
Full review available at: http://ensuingchapters.com/2013/03/06/hilary-davidson-evil-in-all-its-disguises/
In this subtle crime novel, the third in the Lily Moore series, Davidson drops us in an Escher-like room of distorted realities. Everything looks normal, just slightly askew, and it’s these atmospheric incongruities that make Evil such an enjoyable read.
For series initiates, such as myself, Lily Moore is a travel writer with a checkered past: a mentally unstable family history; a deceased, junkie sister; a quasi-gangster business tycoon ex who will do anything to get her back. This is the baggage she takes with her to Acapulco to review the once-glamorous Hotel Cerón.
It’s nothing unusual: just another press junket with a circle of travel writers, and a PR flak, she’s known for years. Yet, when she arrives at the hotel, Moore is surprised to find it in disrepair, and disturbed to learn that one of her closest friends on the trip, Skye, is in over her head on an investigative piece. During their brief and baffling conversation, Skye expresses concern for her safety, and then steps away to take a call.
And so the unraveling begins. Skye doesn’t return from that phone call, and nobody at the isolated resort seems concerned. Through her exploration, Lily learns that the hotel is a recent acquisition by her ex’s company, manned by his henchman, Gavin, and before long she realizes she’s been lured to the Hotel Cerón under false and deadly pretenses.
There is a breathless quality to the prose that I enjoyed. The action is tightly contained (the plot unfolds in around 48 hours), and, from one chapter to the next, I couldn’t put it down. Aside from a superfluity of internal dialogue and redundant flashbacks, the writing is well-paced and tightly organized, and Davidson manages to give us a tour of the resort, including the unfinished bungalows, the empty wings and even the rotting interior, without feeling like a travelogue—probably due to her actual background as a travel writer. (To my fellow gluten-intolerants I recommend her Gluten-Free Guidebook blog.)
But as with a travel review, the pros must be weighed against the cons. Evil suffers from an overload of plot twists. The phrase “trust no one” certainly applies. This isn’t all bad, as the finer twists reveal character complexity (and that delicious incongruity). But as the plot turns pile up, they begin to lose credibility.
Evil diverges from the transgressive and brutal horror literature usually reviewed in this space. There’s a cozy quality to the story that is actually kind of refreshing. The book kept me up at night not because it was disturbing, but because it was engaging.
I predict big things for this book, and I’m sure it will earn a deserved place on the best-seller list.
Full review available at: http://ensuingchapters.com/2013/03/06/hilary-davidson-evil-in-all-its-disguises/
etoiline's review against another edition
4.0
This book had tons of twists and turns. The author is very good at presenting a subject and all the reasons why he or she is the abductor (or killer), then revealing new information that clearly shows the perpetrator is someone else. The setting was exotic but the author reveals the seediness beneath the facade (remind me never to visit Aculpulco alone!). This is not the first book in the series, and though there was quite a bit I was missing having not read those, it didn't take away from the story. The author did a good job of fleshing the characters anyway, and the tidbits of backstory this book contains make me curious to find the other books in the series to find out what happened. There's quite a bit going on here, and the ending is definitely not something I was expecting, though it wraps up quite well. It's a bit more violent than your typical cozy mystery, so be aware if that's what you were looking for, but nothing is too overt or gratuitously gory. I'll try to find more from this author.
Received as a digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.
Received as a digital ARC via Netgalley and the publisher.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
Lily Moore is back again, this time invited to Acapulco by a travel PR agent to write up the area. But Lily's first encounter besides the hotel staff is another travel writer, Skye McDermott, who is very unhappy and not like the Skye Lily is used to. In the middle of a discussion Skye excuses herself and never returns, leaving Lily with her purse and all its contents.
The next thing Lily discovers is the hotel has changed ownership, a fact that would have changed her mind about coming on the trip had she known. As Lily starts to question Skye's disappearance and the hotel's lack of guests, she gets more and more worried, and not just for Skye.
Even if she makes it out of Acapulco, will she be safe? There seems to be a lot at stake here and Lily is a good investigator, but she doesn't always make the right choices of who to trust.
A good plot with a fast pace that will keep you reading.
The next thing Lily discovers is the hotel has changed ownership, a fact that would have changed her mind about coming on the trip had she known. As Lily starts to question Skye's disappearance and the hotel's lack of guests, she gets more and more worried, and not just for Skye.
Even if she makes it out of Acapulco, will she be safe? There seems to be a lot at stake here and Lily is a good investigator, but she doesn't always make the right choices of who to trust.
A good plot with a fast pace that will keep you reading.
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