Reviews

Why We Die by Mick Herron

acmccloskey's review against another edition

4.0

Another solid Mick Herron offering. So reliably witty, compelling, and melancholy - I love all of his books. Terrible title though! (Especially when you’re reading it on the beach, as you get some strange looks from people who are questioning your light reading choices!)

vandermeer's review against another edition

1.0

Bis zur Hälfte gekämpft und dann aufgegeben. Schrecklich langweilig.

techxplorer's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

sandin954's review against another edition

4.0

This is the third book which features Oxford PI Zoe Boehm and was just as good as the others. I really like the author's style, find it very readable, and Zoe is the kind of smart, capable, and pragmatic character that I enjoy.

cybergoths's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

There’s a bit where Herron deliberately shows us the story from the POV of a character and it’s accurate to what they are experiencing but he deliberately avoids linking in other information that will directly impact the end game of the story. Cleverly done.

didactylos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A book that veers into comedy too often really for such a dark issue. I have yet to believe Zoe as a character.

caroparr's review against another edition

3.0

Very plotty, with some well-imagined bad guys, and lots of action for Zoe to get involved with, plus a great twist at the end, too. Herron is tightening up on his narrative, which is good, but there's a lot of depressing bits in this one. Will read the next one anyway (with some trepidation, because I have a hint of what happens to a favorite character).

markw's review against another edition

4.0

This definitely grew on me. I started off thinking it must be a weaker early work (i.e. compared to the Slough House spy series), but it really picked up steam as it progressed. 

Zoe Boehm is a great character, a (struggling) private investigator still mourning the death of her PI husband Joe. She’s not such an unforgettable (or monstrous) character as Jackson Lamb, and sometimes a good deal less plausible (

like when she hurls herself down the stairs and fells giant psycho Arkle with a flying kick to the throat – I mean, c’mon, she’s not Villanelle!

). Sometimes she edges dangerously close to being just pawn of the plot – but the plot is fantastic.

As with his other books, we get plenty of Heron’s trademark cynical humour – perhaps not as bleak (or as funny) as in the Jackson Lamb series, but nonetheless the combination of black humour and clever plotting makes this a great read. 

I have started mid-series here – this is book 3 of 4 – because Amazon was offering it at 99p, but I’ll definitely read more.

megkitts10's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

sean67's review against another edition

2.0

Why we died?
Many more books like this and we might.
Sigh.
Just never got into it, it was not engaging enough.