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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
I went into this book with pretty high expectations. This is one of the best reviewed books in the Strike series and hugely popular on the Cormoran Strike subreddit as well. For many, this is the best book in the series thus far. I really enjoyed it, but it didn't reach those heights for me and my top two in the series are still Troubled Blood and Career of Evil.
This is an intense and expansive novel and the first one in the series in which the Strike and Ellacott team are not investigating one specific murder. This volume sees them investigating a cult with over 10,000 members, and includes investigation not just of murder but of child abuse, sexual abuse, extortion, embezzlement, and nearly every other crime you can think of. We also have the usual myriad subplots involving Strike and Robin's personal lives and other, minor cases that the team is investigating at the same time.
As always, it was expertly written and engaging with a huge web of complicated characters to follow. As always, I especially loved the interview scenes (my favorite part of this series, honestly) as well as any scene in which Strike and Robin were bouncing ideas off of each other trying to work it all out. I really do love the investigation part of these books. I would say that Robin is pretty much the lead character in this book, as she goes deep undercover for a large portion of it and goes into the cult itself. I adore Robin and at this point she is pretty firmly in my top five favorite fictional characters. Seeing her strength, intelligence, resilience, and compassion in this book was just fantastic.
Why doesn't it go full five stars for me? I got a little bit bogged down at about the 300-400 page mark and actually took a long break in the middle of this book and read a bunch of other things before resuming. The portion within the cult was tense and freaky, but also not my favorite and it went on for a really long time with barely any movement. I needed a break from it while reading. Some of this may be influenced by the fact that I had a friend and colleague who joined a cult (she's still in it, unfortunately) and it was all hitting a bit close to home.
Things definitely picked up as soon as Robin escaped and I devoured the last third in a frenzy. I thought the ending/final reveal was brave (I was afraid it was going to be a cop-out). I wanted to see someone punch Jonathan Wace right in his smug face (Becca too) but we can't have everything, and it was a realistic bittersweet ending.
The personal stuff was pretty good. Poor Uncle Ted has dementia. Charlotte killed herself and I'm honestly just relieved that this plot is over because I absolutely hated Charlotte and seeing her crop up again in every book. Strike and Robin take a teeny tiny step forward in the final chapter of this book, in terms of the longest slow burn romance ever. I've been reading a lot romance lately and they seem so quaint compared to the other books I've been reading. Speak up! Tell each other what you feel!
This is an intense and expansive novel and the first one in the series in which the Strike and Ellacott team are not investigating one specific murder. This volume sees them investigating a cult with over 10,000 members, and includes investigation not just of murder but of child abuse, sexual abuse, extortion, embezzlement, and nearly every other crime you can think of. We also have the usual myriad subplots involving Strike and Robin's personal lives and other, minor cases that the team is investigating at the same time.
As always, it was expertly written and engaging with a huge web of complicated characters to follow. As always, I especially loved the interview scenes (my favorite part of this series, honestly) as well as any scene in which Strike and Robin were bouncing ideas off of each other trying to work it all out. I really do love the investigation part of these books. I would say that Robin is pretty much the lead character in this book, as she goes deep undercover for a large portion of it and goes into the cult itself. I adore Robin and at this point she is pretty firmly in my top five favorite fictional characters. Seeing her strength, intelligence, resilience, and compassion in this book was just fantastic.
Why doesn't it go full five stars for me? I got a little bit bogged down at about the 300-400 page mark and actually took a long break in the middle of this book and read a bunch of other things before resuming. The portion within the cult was tense and freaky, but also not my favorite and it went on for a really long time with barely any movement. I needed a break from it while reading. Some of this may be influenced by the fact that I had a friend and colleague who joined a cult (she's still in it, unfortunately) and it was all hitting a bit close to home.
Things definitely picked up as soon as Robin escaped and I devoured the last third in a frenzy. I thought the ending/final reveal was brave (I was afraid it was going to be a cop-out). I wanted to see someone punch Jonathan Wace right in his smug face (Becca too) but we can't have everything, and it was a realistic bittersweet ending.
The personal stuff was pretty good. Poor Uncle Ted has dementia. Charlotte killed herself and I'm honestly just relieved that this plot is over because I absolutely hated Charlotte and seeing her crop up again in every book. Strike and Robin take a teeny tiny step forward in the final chapter of this book, in terms of the longest slow burn romance ever. I've been reading a lot romance lately and they seem so quaint compared to the other books I've been reading. Speak up! Tell each other what you feel!
I can’t tell whether the author either really hates David Bowie or really loves David Bowie.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How can a book be so long and go so fast?? The story and pacing and writing are perfection. I enjoyed every minute of this 34 hour audiobook.
Definitely a time investment! I recommend listening to the audiobook if possible, which is excellent as always. The storyline is quite complex and layered, with the usual tension between the main characters of this series. I really appreciated how she delved a bit more into some of the minor characters’ backstories, and the way she finessed some final conclusions in others.
The book is intense. Sometimes it almost felt like there was a story within the story, because of how intricate and involved the main investigation became.
The fear is palpable and the suspense (and sometimes horror) is real. Not in a gory sense, but in truly horrifying circumstances. I think she did an excellent job portraying the confounding environment and psychology of the “church”; allowing the reader to gain an understanding of how and why some people become involved with these types of groups, and the complicated reasons that compel them to stay. It is mind boggling, and will feel unfathomable to most. However, I don’t find the book exploitative (obviously it’s fiction but might as well be based on a true story!) or even slightly unbelievable. These cults are real.
ALL the trigger warnings!!
The book is intense. Sometimes it almost felt like there was a story within the story, because of how intricate and involved the main investigation became.
The fear is palpable and the suspense (and sometimes horror) is real. Not in a gory sense, but in truly horrifying circumstances. I think she did an excellent job portraying the confounding environment and psychology of the “church”; allowing the reader to gain an understanding of how and why some people become involved with these types of groups, and the complicated reasons that compel them to stay. It is mind boggling, and will feel unfathomable to most. However, I don’t find the book exploitative (obviously it’s fiction but might as well be based on a true story!) or even slightly unbelievable. These cults are real.
ALL the trigger warnings!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated