Scan barcode
em_beddedinbooks's review against another edition
3.0
this is typical Sophie Hannah - dark psychological mystery with prominent female characters, and too many twists and turns to really identify the perp before the very last page. In this book she has dealt with a gruesome topic - that of mothers killing their infants. This story deals with 3 mothers who were imprisoned for killing their offsprings (one is not a mother, but a lady who is supposed to have smothered her friend's infant) and the media struggle for their release as a few people believe that they are innocent and what happened was just crib death. The antagonist is a female doctor who is responsible for their imprisonment via her testimony. Now the women are let out after a few years of imprisonment and a media circus is going on regarding their guilt/ innocence. The readers are kept in tenterhooks till the last and there are a few murders in between with bizarre clue. And central to it is a young investigative journalist (by force, not by choice) and a team of police officers who are quite antagonistic to each other investigating the recent murders. It was interesting but with a tendency to drag a bit in the middle. I give it only 3 stars because the subject matter made me ill at ease. Thank God, I did not come across such a book when my son was in his infancy. I would never have had a good nights' sleep.
hinniger's review against another edition
3.0
Although suspenseful and inviting at times, I found zero connection to any of the characters and was unemotionally attached to every one of them ugh! I want to love the characters (or at least one of them) and setting and neither was great for me!
mrsreads1's review against another edition
4.0
"Assume nothing, believe nobody, check everything."
Thirty-one-year-old Felicity Benson is an insecure television producer who is surprised when her boss, film-maker legend Laurie Nattrass, hands her his pet project, a documentary detailing the stories of women who were falsely accused of murdering their children, and announces his retirement. As Felicity begins interviewing these mothers, she receives a strange item in the mail - a card containing 16 numbers, arranged in a tidy grid. Soon she discovers the police are investigating crimes related to two women featured in the film who also received a card from the mysterious sender. One, assaulted on the street, the other, murdered in her own home.
This latest novel in the Spilling CID series by Sophie Hannah is my favorite so far. Hannah constructs a well-honed mystery with distinctive characters and sophisticated writing. DC Simon Waterhouse is once again pitted against his boss, "The Snowman", who was the arresting officer in the case involving the murdered mother, and we get to watch their relationship deteriorate even further. This plot was an extremely straight forward murder mystery, avoiding some of the confusing twists present in her previous novels. However, in true form, Hannah keeps the reader guessing until the shocking and unforgettable ending.
Thirty-one-year-old Felicity Benson is an insecure television producer who is surprised when her boss, film-maker legend Laurie Nattrass, hands her his pet project, a documentary detailing the stories of women who were falsely accused of murdering their children, and announces his retirement. As Felicity begins interviewing these mothers, she receives a strange item in the mail - a card containing 16 numbers, arranged in a tidy grid. Soon she discovers the police are investigating crimes related to two women featured in the film who also received a card from the mysterious sender. One, assaulted on the street, the other, murdered in her own home.
This latest novel in the Spilling CID series by Sophie Hannah is my favorite so far. Hannah constructs a well-honed mystery with distinctive characters and sophisticated writing. DC Simon Waterhouse is once again pitted against his boss, "The Snowman", who was the arresting officer in the case involving the murdered mother, and we get to watch their relationship deteriorate even further. This plot was an extremely straight forward murder mystery, avoiding some of the confusing twists present in her previous novels. However, in true form, Hannah keeps the reader guessing until the shocking and unforgettable ending.
sdriscoll05's review against another edition
2.0
In an effort to get through this book faster, I sped up the narrator's reading voice. So - I either gave it 2 stars because it wasn't very good, or because she was talking to fast for me to understand what was happening in the story. Either way I stand by my review.
hollykhazzard's review against another edition
2.0
I’m not to sure on this book because at some points I was really intrigued then others I was bored . I did struggle to get into it and at some point I got confused .
_sarah_g's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not entirely sure why I continue to read this series. The characters all seem to blend together, and I'm constantly checking to see who is currently narrating because the tone and style of the dialogue of each character is not distinct enough. And as usual, the protagonist is a rather unlikable, troubled woman who constantly does and says things that are inexplicable.
I would have given this book 2 or 3 stars, just like the others I've read from her, but the anti-vax theme immediately made the book go to 1 star. Seriously, there's even a bit that expresses pity for Andrew Wakefield.
It's frustrating because her characters and plot lines have so much potential--which is why I continue to read the series I guess.
I would have given this book 2 or 3 stars, just like the others I've read from her, but the anti-vax theme immediately made the book go to 1 star. Seriously, there's even a bit that expresses pity for Andrew Wakefield.
It's frustrating because her characters and plot lines have so much potential--which is why I continue to read the series I guess.
overdueshrew's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the last Spilling CID I read, but still a fast-paced and intelligent read.
badcushion's review against another edition
4.0
All I'll say is, I bought this at about 2pm on Monday, and finished it by 7pm on Tuesday. I also went to a movie, had lunch with a friend, went to the grocery store, and spend two hours hiking about in the woods. And I slept about eight hours. Otherwise, I was reading.