Reviews

The Cradle in the Grave by Sophie Hannah

coops456's review against another edition

2.0

TV producer Fliss Benson receives an anonymous card at work. The card has sixteen numbers on it, arranged in four rows of four - numbers that mean nothing to her. On the same day, Fliss finds out she's going to be working on a documentary about miscarriages of justice involving cot-death mothers wrongly accused of murder. And then one of the mothers is found dead at her home, and in her pocket is a card with sixteen numbers on it, arranged in four rows of four...

I didn't realise that this was actually the 5th in a series featuring the same police officers; this is more psychological thriller than police procedural but just didn't work for me. I found it a bit of a slog; partly my own frame of mind but also most of the characters were pretty unsympathetic and - perhaps because of the context I'm missing from earlier books - behaved quite oddly at times.

heleneb's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.5

febentley's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

notorious_vog's review against another edition

2.0

I have loved every book by Sophie Hannah, but this was disappointing. Hard to follow with confusing and unnecessary plot twists...

textandtunes's review against another edition

3.0

It seemed very promising and then it came to the last pages and it was a mess. Really didn’t enjoy the reveal and ending of this so nicely introduced tragedy

thelaurasaurus's review against another edition

2.0

This was a fast and pretty enjoyable read. However, I ended up getting really annoyed that the police characters were just kind of thrust into the scene, with occasional references to their history, which were never fully explained. I think they must be recurring characters in her books, but this was far from obvious.

The story towards the end got a bit ridiculous, but it was certainly gripping.

mrs_george's review against another edition

2.0

Sophie Hannah's books are...interesting. The plots are fascinating but get lost amid a whole bunch of unnecessary characters and subplots. At the same time, these annoyances help to alleviate some of the heaviness her plots contain. This is the third book I've read of Hannah's and was my least favorite. I'll continue reading her books because of those fascinating storylines but maybe just do one a year.

addy1991's review against another edition

4.0

This book is aka "The Cradle in the Grave" which is what I read. There are likeable characters and ones I don't particularly care for/about but that is what makes this a good read. The fact that the reader likes or dislikes characters AND continues to read the story until the very end. The subject matter of mother killing their children isn't an easy read, but Hannah doesn't focus on telling gory details to draw out disgust and emotions in her reader, she delves into the characters whose lives are touched by the deaths ~ what they were like before, during the trial and after. Some questions are answered but many more are purposefully left unanswered because unless one was physically present there is no way in fully knowing the truth. I recall a quote/saying somewhere regarding two people talking about a situation... there is his version... her version... and the truth that quite often lies in between the versions. This book is full of characters with their own version regarding certain events.

kingfan30's review against another edition

3.0

On a rare occasion my husband stops moaning about the number of books I have and goes and buys me one, this was one he choose. I can't make my mind up about this book. At times it felt very chick lit, particularly where Fliss was concerned. On the other had it was trying to be a gripping thriller that was not quite pulled off in my opinion.

I loved the fact the chapters were in different formats (third and first person) and had the odd snippets from books, reports etc. it could have been done better though.

There was a bit that made me laugh not far into the book where Fliss ran into her room, locked it and put the chain across, for someone to walk in about 5 pages later. I'm not sure how that's possible unless they are a magician!!

It is the first book by Hannah I have read and a lot of reviews say this is not the best one, so maybe I need to give an earlier one in the series a look.

mechapman80's review against another edition

3.0

This was just okay. I really thought it started out great and I am a big Sophie Hannah fan, but the ending left a lot to be desired. Just too many loose ends. I also felt like there were too many characters. One of the things I like best about Sophie Hannah books are the endless twists and turns but I felt like with this one, the strands all got too tangled up and were left hanging at the end. It was a bit of a disappointment.