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m3l89's review against another edition
3.0
Initially I found this very difficult to get into and Naomi annoyed me greatly. As the book continued I found the plot and character relationships very convoluted and by the end I was relieved to be finished!
amy1980's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? No
3.0
Enjoyed this.
secre's review against another edition
2.0
Hurting distance is a book I bought from Amazon because of the reviews on here, and it seemed like my kind of book. It has rape, murder, mystery and two women whom it appears do not know the meaning of truth...which led me to believe that it would be a fairly gripping book...yes, I have a morbid taste in books. I have to admit, I was rather disappointed.
===Boring Stuff===
Title: Hurting Distance
Author: Sophie Hannah
Price: RRP £6.99, Amazon £1.50 at time of writing.
ISBN: 978-0-340-84034-4
Publisher: Hodder
===Basic story===
Naomi Jenkins is one of the main characters and much of the story is told through her eyes, and shows her thought processes as well as her actions. She is portrayed as a fairly compulsive and slightly insane character, who is very private and difficult to get to know, let alone like. It becomes obvious very early on in the novel that she has been through hell earlier in her life when she was raped by a group of men. She is having an affair with a married man, who she adores with all her heart, but suddenly he disappears, he doesn't turn up to their set meetings and he doesn't answer her calls. This in itself doesn't sound that major, considering that it cannot be that rare for a man having an affair to suddenly decide that this isn't such a good idea anymore, and take the cowards way out in not explaining it to his mistress. But Naomi is certain that this is not what has happened, she is certain that he is too anal for this, and would at the very least told her. So she goes to the police and it is here that the plot thickens.
The main detective in the story is Detective Charlie Zailer, and much like the reader she originally dismisses Naomi as massively over-reacting, and doesn't make any great effort to find this man.
However, Naomi is certain that that he would not do this to her, and so she thinks up a new plan, one which has so many flaws in it that it could be made of Leerdammer cheese! But as the back of the novel says, 'Naomi knows how to describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own traumatic past', and so this is what she does. I am not spoiling the plot in saying this as it occurs very early in the novel, although it seems like it should be a later part of a novel. She accuses the man who she loves of rape, knowing that if the police will not chase an innocent, missing man, they will certainly try their best to find a dangerous psychopath, who could be a risk to the public. However much the police are not certain as to whether to believe her, they have no chance but to follow up this formal accusation, and she uses the letter she wrote to a rape survivors group called 'Speak out and Survive' as a certain amount of proof to her claims. And the plot thickens further.
This novel is not so much an action packed police chase, far more a very complicated psychological thriller, in which much of the attention is focussed on the main characters thoughts and reasons why they act in such ways.
===Style===
As I said before this is a psychological thriller, and because of this you cannot easily compare it to any of the normal murder mysteries, which are far faster moving and often focus less on character development. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on the style of book that you prefer, personally I found it far too slow for my liking. Sophie Hannah spends the first quarter of the novel developing and expanding the characters without any real plot development, which makes the early book difficult to read and easy to put down. The only reason I continued reading it is because I was curious to see what actually happened when the author did start her story.
===Characters===
A lot of time is spent by Sophie Hannah in creating 'real' characters, however, to a point this falls through, much like her style. This is because it is very difficult for you to understand why Naomi acts as she does, even with her reasoning spelt out for you. As a reader you are meant to have a certain amount and even empathy for the main character in a novel, however, this fails in respect to Naomi because you cannot understand her, and she comes across more as neurotic, manipulative and almost insane than a character to be sympathetic towards. Even the main detective is difficult to like, as although you can see where she is coming from, many of her actions border on the pathetic, when she should be seen as at the very least professional. The wife of the 'missing man' is as manipulative as Naomi is, and the rest of the characters are not truly developed. The only character who I found that I could like was the superintendent, and he was the character that a reader of the book was meant to dislike. Maybe it's just me, but much like Dr Kelso in Scrubs I found that I actually liked him, no matter how much he is presented as a cold hearted, temperamental and difficult man.
Even with the main plot areas where the actions of some are evil beyond doubt, the author never truly explores the motives and morals of any of the characters. This in itself disappointed me because I expect that sort of attention to be given to these areas in a psychological thriller. Although the author has tried to make her characters 'real' she has failed, because many of them are inherently dislikeable and because she gives no good reasoning for her actions. If you take Naomi stating to the police that this man has raped her, you can see the desperation that has led her to this, but equally, it is difficult to understand the actions of someone who seems to have so little awareness of the consequences of her own actions.
===So why read it?===
After I've spent all this time moaning about the books shortcomings, you must be wondering why I continued to read the novel at all. The first and most simple answer is that I hate to put a book down when I have started it, it is almost an obligation to finish the book which nags at me. But the second reason does pertain to the novel, however much I felt like I was ploughing through tar at some points, I really wanted to know what happened and how everything turned out. The twists that are introduced into the novel are at turns shocking and horrifying, and slowly as the full picture emerges it is very difficult to put it down. I wanted to know where this would lead, and as the clues and hints slowly kicked into place in my brain I desperately wanted to know if I was moving along the correct lines. And so, I kept reading, and as the book progressed into the later half or quarter of the book I found that I was enjoying it, almost despite myself by this point.
===Conclusion===
I cannot say that this is a ripping yarn that will keep you clued to the pages at all times, because it isn't. It is more a mix of psychological thriller and police mystery, which has attempted to straddle the borders of both...and failed. However, the storyline itself is very interesting, once you actually get into the storyline, and because of the amount of mystery in it there is the reaction of wanting to know what is going on. Other people have given this book very high ratings, but I found it too difficult to wade through for that. But it might be worth a look, if you can overcome its shortcomings.
And crikey, I have a review under 1500 words...I think I'm going to go and check to see if I'm ill!
===Boring Stuff===
Title: Hurting Distance
Author: Sophie Hannah
Price: RRP £6.99, Amazon £1.50 at time of writing.
ISBN: 978-0-340-84034-4
Publisher: Hodder
===Basic story===
Naomi Jenkins is one of the main characters and much of the story is told through her eyes, and shows her thought processes as well as her actions. She is portrayed as a fairly compulsive and slightly insane character, who is very private and difficult to get to know, let alone like. It becomes obvious very early on in the novel that she has been through hell earlier in her life when she was raped by a group of men. She is having an affair with a married man, who she adores with all her heart, but suddenly he disappears, he doesn't turn up to their set meetings and he doesn't answer her calls. This in itself doesn't sound that major, considering that it cannot be that rare for a man having an affair to suddenly decide that this isn't such a good idea anymore, and take the cowards way out in not explaining it to his mistress. But Naomi is certain that this is not what has happened, she is certain that he is too anal for this, and would at the very least told her. So she goes to the police and it is here that the plot thickens.
The main detective in the story is Detective Charlie Zailer, and much like the reader she originally dismisses Naomi as massively over-reacting, and doesn't make any great effort to find this man.
However, Naomi is certain that that he would not do this to her, and so she thinks up a new plan, one which has so many flaws in it that it could be made of Leerdammer cheese! But as the back of the novel says, 'Naomi knows how to describe in detail the actions of a psychopath. All she needs to do is dig up her own traumatic past', and so this is what she does. I am not spoiling the plot in saying this as it occurs very early in the novel, although it seems like it should be a later part of a novel. She accuses the man who she loves of rape, knowing that if the police will not chase an innocent, missing man, they will certainly try their best to find a dangerous psychopath, who could be a risk to the public. However much the police are not certain as to whether to believe her, they have no chance but to follow up this formal accusation, and she uses the letter she wrote to a rape survivors group called 'Speak out and Survive' as a certain amount of proof to her claims. And the plot thickens further.
This novel is not so much an action packed police chase, far more a very complicated psychological thriller, in which much of the attention is focussed on the main characters thoughts and reasons why they act in such ways.
===Style===
As I said before this is a psychological thriller, and because of this you cannot easily compare it to any of the normal murder mysteries, which are far faster moving and often focus less on character development. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on the style of book that you prefer, personally I found it far too slow for my liking. Sophie Hannah spends the first quarter of the novel developing and expanding the characters without any real plot development, which makes the early book difficult to read and easy to put down. The only reason I continued reading it is because I was curious to see what actually happened when the author did start her story.
===Characters===
A lot of time is spent by Sophie Hannah in creating 'real' characters, however, to a point this falls through, much like her style. This is because it is very difficult for you to understand why Naomi acts as she does, even with her reasoning spelt out for you. As a reader you are meant to have a certain amount and even empathy for the main character in a novel, however, this fails in respect to Naomi because you cannot understand her, and she comes across more as neurotic, manipulative and almost insane than a character to be sympathetic towards. Even the main detective is difficult to like, as although you can see where she is coming from, many of her actions border on the pathetic, when she should be seen as at the very least professional. The wife of the 'missing man' is as manipulative as Naomi is, and the rest of the characters are not truly developed. The only character who I found that I could like was the superintendent, and he was the character that a reader of the book was meant to dislike. Maybe it's just me, but much like Dr Kelso in Scrubs I found that I actually liked him, no matter how much he is presented as a cold hearted, temperamental and difficult man.
Even with the main plot areas where the actions of some are evil beyond doubt, the author never truly explores the motives and morals of any of the characters. This in itself disappointed me because I expect that sort of attention to be given to these areas in a psychological thriller. Although the author has tried to make her characters 'real' she has failed, because many of them are inherently dislikeable and because she gives no good reasoning for her actions. If you take Naomi stating to the police that this man has raped her, you can see the desperation that has led her to this, but equally, it is difficult to understand the actions of someone who seems to have so little awareness of the consequences of her own actions.
===So why read it?===
After I've spent all this time moaning about the books shortcomings, you must be wondering why I continued to read the novel at all. The first and most simple answer is that I hate to put a book down when I have started it, it is almost an obligation to finish the book which nags at me. But the second reason does pertain to the novel, however much I felt like I was ploughing through tar at some points, I really wanted to know what happened and how everything turned out. The twists that are introduced into the novel are at turns shocking and horrifying, and slowly as the full picture emerges it is very difficult to put it down. I wanted to know where this would lead, and as the clues and hints slowly kicked into place in my brain I desperately wanted to know if I was moving along the correct lines. And so, I kept reading, and as the book progressed into the later half or quarter of the book I found that I was enjoying it, almost despite myself by this point.
===Conclusion===
I cannot say that this is a ripping yarn that will keep you clued to the pages at all times, because it isn't. It is more a mix of psychological thriller and police mystery, which has attempted to straddle the borders of both...and failed. However, the storyline itself is very interesting, once you actually get into the storyline, and because of the amount of mystery in it there is the reaction of wanting to know what is going on. Other people have given this book very high ratings, but I found it too difficult to wade through for that. But it might be worth a look, if you can overcome its shortcomings.
And crikey, I have a review under 1500 words...I think I'm going to go and check to see if I'm ill!
nocto's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this once I got going with it. I found it hard to get started with as the first couple of chapters didn't grab me. But once it did grab me it was a keep reading until there's nothing left kind of read.
The story is told in a similar way to Hannah's first book Little Face; first person sections narrated by the main victim character intertwine with sections from the point of view of the police. The police characters are the same group as featured in the first book too; nice to see them again and to see them develop.
And again, as in the first book, the plot is totally blow me away fabulous. So many twists, turns and facades that I couldn't start to describe it without worrying about giving something away. This is an author and a series that I'm looking forward to reading for many years to come.
mfeibel's review against another edition
4.0
I think I enjoyed this book more than Little Face, simply because it felt like more was going on. My one issue so far with Hannah's books is that there seem to be very few characters outside the inner circle of the police department. So it make picking out the guilty party fairly easy.
Not that it makes me enjoy the books any less!
Not that it makes me enjoy the books any less!
malvord27's review against another edition
3.0
This book captured me from the offset, but as it carried on it got a bit too "psychological thriller" for my liking. That's not my favorite genre, and combined with the story line revolving around rape really pushed my reading sensibilities. All of that aside I thought the writing was solid. The mystery aspect was strong. The way the author lets you slowly discover the facts was good, although you're definitely at the mercy of the characters to tell you what's going on as they tend to hide things from you.
I'd be read something by this author again provided it's not a psychological thriller.
I'd be read something by this author again provided it's not a psychological thriller.
funnybookworm's review against another edition
1.0
I did not finish this one because the characters irritate me. I'm also bored with the storyline and just really don't care who did it or why. I think I might be bored with the "psychological" style of this author.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
4.0
Sophomore efforts often misfire - even sophomore years tend to be sort of mildly dreadful and a letdown after all the discoveries of being a freshman. This book, however, is really good and redeems the author for me after the utter disaster of Little Face.
Hannah's device of alternating perspective from first-person to third-person by chapter is still here, but as in The Wrong Mother, it is much less distracting as a device than it is in Little Face. The difference is that the story utterly compelling and distinctive as are the characters. This novel kept me reading and reading on the edge of my seat as I waited for her to play out all the strings. I found the story and the characters believable and convincing and interesting psychologically. The story is definitely disturbing, but it's well-written and doesn't cut corners or shy away from the complexity of human relationships.
This was a great read and redeemed Hannah for me. I look forward to her fourth novel.
Hannah's device of alternating perspective from first-person to third-person by chapter is still here, but as in The Wrong Mother, it is much less distracting as a device than it is in Little Face. The difference is that the story utterly compelling and distinctive as are the characters. This novel kept me reading and reading on the edge of my seat as I waited for her to play out all the strings. I found the story and the characters believable and convincing and interesting psychologically. The story is definitely disturbing, but it's well-written and doesn't cut corners or shy away from the complexity of human relationships.
This was a great read and redeemed Hannah for me. I look forward to her fourth novel.