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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This was one of the best cold case crime mysteries I've come across. The first 220 pages you spent in the past timeline and so you really get to know these characters and how their lives changed. Then in the present timeline, it makes you really care about what happens to them. Also, it had some great misdirects which I always appreciate.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
This is a book in which the plot is satisfyingly complex and the mystery takes time to untangle. That said, my early suspicion about the murderer turned out to be correct but I believe that was just luck.
Anyway, the flaw for me was largely the awkwardness of the writing. Referring alternately to the four main characters by their given names and their nicknames made it hard to keep everyone straight. While they were all individuals we were introduced to them as a pod and it was ages before I had them properly sorted.
Some of the scenes are gruesome and I didn't enjoy reading the details. There are a number of tropes that are simply stale and offensive when the book is a few decades old.
I don't know Karen Pirie and picked this because it was the first in the series, but like others I find that she played a minuscule role in this storyline, so I do t know if I will want to read others.
Anyway, the flaw for me was largely the awkwardness of the writing. Referring alternately to the four main characters by their given names and their nicknames made it hard to keep everyone straight. While they were all individuals we were introduced to them as a pod and it was ages before I had them properly sorted.
Some of the scenes are gruesome and I didn't enjoy reading the details. There are a number of tropes that are simply stale and offensive when the book is a few decades old.
I don't know Karen Pirie and picked this because it was the first in the series, but like others I find that she played a minuscule role in this storyline, so I do t know if I will want to read others.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Went back to the start of the Karen Pirie story after discovering her first in book number 4. This first introduction to Pirie in a minor role is a serviceable McDermid mystery that kept me turning the pages, although I spotted the true villain early.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A