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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
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Click here to read my full review, for now enjoy a little snippet below...
... I was really into it at first and super excited at the length of the book because I thought 'wow, I'm going to get THIS much drama!?' Things slowed down half way through and then it felt like the story halted. ....
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Click here to read my full review, for now enjoy a little snippet below...
... I was really into it at first and super excited at the length of the book because I thought 'wow, I'm going to get THIS much drama!?' Things slowed down half way through and then it felt like the story halted. ....
Follow along on my Bookstagram/Instagram.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
It was a good whodunnit. So many suspects, once you think you’ve figured it out, it gets all muddled again. A bit long, but enjoyed it.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Could not connect with characters
This was my first Clare Macintosh. I do own another one of her books that I’ll read at some point.
It’s hard to put my thoughts together on this because while I enjoyed it, there were elements of it that just didn’t work for me.
One was that on page 178, Ashleigh slips and says that Caleb is her drug dealer. But, when we get to Caleb’s viewpoint chapters, there is absolutely no indication that that is true. It felt off kilter. Either he’s a kid trying to get a fresh start or he’s dealing cocaine. The picture being painted didn’t jive.
Also, at the end, it made no sense that Glynis paid Huw $30,000. If Rhys had been so desperate for money, why wouldn’t he have either, 1. approached his mom for the money, or, 2. if Glynis got it in Jac’s Will, why didn’t Rhys manipulate that in the Will too. Why would she feel obligated to pay Rhys’s debt? She certainly wasn’t legally responsible for it.
At the end of the book, it says that The Shore construction continues. Who is paying for it? That made no sense. If Glynis was fighting the Will, then I would think everything would be halted. And, it specifically says that the Charltons left, so why would Jonty, with only 49% control, and no desire to be there, bankroll the rest? That part was unclear and confusing, especially when Glynis hated The Shore. I would think if she was fighting the Will, she would also get an injunction to stop further development.
Overall, the atmosphere and setting were very good. I loved how the Welsh countryside was painted with the imagery of the dragon etc. My ancestry is a good chunk Welsh, so it was interesting to me to see the division between the English and Welsh.
As for Ffion, she was a hard main character to connect with, until her secrets were spilled. I did like Leo.
I would rate this one a 3.5 stars, rounded up here.
It’s hard to put my thoughts together on this because while I enjoyed it, there were elements of it that just didn’t work for me.
One was that on page 178, Ashleigh slips and says that Caleb is her drug dealer. But, when we get to Caleb’s viewpoint chapters, there is absolutely no indication that that is true. It felt off kilter. Either he’s a kid trying to get a fresh start or he’s dealing cocaine. The picture being painted didn’t jive.
Also, at the end, it made no sense that Glynis paid Huw $30,000. If Rhys had been so desperate for money, why wouldn’t he have either, 1. approached his mom for the money, or, 2. if Glynis got it in Jac’s Will, why didn’t Rhys manipulate that in the Will too. Why would she feel obligated to pay Rhys’s debt? She certainly wasn’t legally responsible for it.
At the end of the book, it says that The Shore construction continues. Who is paying for it? That made no sense. If Glynis was fighting the Will, then I would think everything would be halted. And, it specifically says that the Charltons left, so why would Jonty, with only 49% control, and no desire to be there, bankroll the rest? That part was unclear and confusing, especially when Glynis hated The Shore. I would think if she was fighting the Will, she would also get an injunction to stop further development.
Overall, the atmosphere and setting were very good. I loved how the Welsh countryside was painted with the imagery of the dragon etc. My ancestry is a good chunk Welsh, so it was interesting to me to see the division between the English and Welsh.
As for Ffion, she was a hard main character to connect with, until her secrets were spilled. I did like Leo.
I would rate this one a 3.5 stars, rounded up here.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow! I am extremely impressed by this book. I was afraid that it could turn into a cheap thriller, but Agatha Christie would be proud to read the sucker. I don’t actually know if she liked mystery novels like the one she wrote, but this is a good story.
From the complex characters to the twisted relationships to the not one not two, but three false answers to the question of who killed the sleazy singer, I don’t know what else you could’ve done to make this book any better except have a dozen more like it in the series.
I also really loved the setting of Northern Wales. I don’t know much about Wales, despite my love with English literature.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I always give mystery novels points if I guessed the ending or not. I had no idea that the first two killers were involved, but I did wonder about someone poisoning the envelope somehow so I’m giving myself a few points for that.
All in all, this was a really impressive book and a good mystery…and if you read my reviews, you know I strongly differentiate between mystery and thriller, so you know that that’s saying something coming from me. Great start; can’t wait to keep reading.
I love to find a Whodunit with thoughtful, well crafted, mostly despicable characters - this absolutely hit that mark. Strong twist at the end, too.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was a good enough mystery. It wasn't GREAT, but it certainly wasn't bad, either. The story line and characters were intriguing, and it moved at a decent pace. I had no problem picking it back up, but also no problem putting it back down. I enjoyed how twisted the mystery itself was, and how many suspects there were... it made it very hard to ever guess the truth. I think some of my issue with the book was just the fact that culturally, I wasn't familiar at all with the area / setting, or the language. I think that slowed things down for me a bit. I really liked the main character Ffion and I do plan on reading the next one in the series.