Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Running Grave

Tension built steadily and from halfway through was completely gripped. Did not want to spend much time with some of the characters, apart from our heroes of course! It was long but the story warranted the length I think. Some complicated explanations in tying things up. But overall a satisfying ending.

Content Warnings

ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought my eyes might bleed out from how intensely I was reading this - I was totally caught up in the story, and read it at any spare moment I could over the last 2 days. I did quake a little at the size of it (could only read this as an e-book...I'd brain myself in bed trying to read the hardback!), and there were moments when I wondered if I could possibly keep all the many, many, many characters and plot lines secure in my menopausal head. But somehow I did. It ranged from creepy, exciting, tense, funny...I didn't always like Cormoran, or Robin, in this episode in the series which gave it an interesting edge because I came in fully committed to the pair of them. I loved Pat.

I always wonder if RG/JKR's author is just too terrified to ever suggest an edit, but even at this ginormous length, I'm not sure there's anything I would have cut, as it all felt like absolutely being immersed in the detective agency's world the whole time I was reading.

Content Warnings

jhbandcats's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love all the Cormoran Strike books - they get better and better with increasing complexity of Strike and Robin’s characters. There are complaints that this one, at close to 1000 pages, is too long, but I found the story so riveting that I never felt the plot was unnecessarily long. The occasional dry humor is a relief from all the tension - it feels good to laugh when there’s nothing remotely laughable about the story as a whole.

This entry in the series is particularly horrific. I knew the part about Robin going undercover in a cult was going to be tense but I didn’t know it would be quite as terrifying as it was. I found myself consumed with dread as I read it and kept having to stop and pull back from the story.

I did have trouble keeping the relationships of the characters straight. There were a lot of people and parentage wasn’t always what the cult leaders claimed. The next time I read this I’ll make a cheat sheet so I can remember who’s who.

I’m already looking forward to the next in the series. I hope there are a lot more books to come.

Content Warnings