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pebbles7g's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
realmenwearfloral's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tashabye's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
This one kept me totally reading and engaged. The content was pretty tough at times but the thrill aspect of it was high. I'm hooked on this series. Looking forward to #3.
This one kept me totally reading and engaged. The content was pretty tough at times but the thrill aspect of it was high. I'm hooked on this series. Looking forward to #3.
samstillreading's review against another edition
4.0
I can’t resist a bargain. $10 for a paperback is a bargain to me, so I bought this copy after reading the glowing reviews for Sophie Hannah on Novel Insights. At the demise of my local Borders store, I picked up another Hannah book (why were there so many left?), thinking that if I didn’t enjoy this book, I’d give the other to my mother. No chance, I really enjoyed Hurting Distance and plan to read the entire series.
Don’t stop reading at the mention of the word ‘series’. These books can easily be read alone and out of sequence (like the Brock and Kolla mysteries by Barry Maitland). Although they feature the same detectives (Charlie –female- and Simon) who seem to have some on-again, off-again relationship, their relationship is only a minor part of the backstory. The focus is on the crime, and what I’ve found unique in regards to this book (and it seems, the other books in the series from a quick flick) is that they offer both the police view and the view of the victim.
Hurting Distance opens with the victim, Naomi Jenkins, reporting the disappearance of her lover Robert. As Robert’s married and only meets Naomi once a week, the police aren’t terribly interested. Naomi then tries desperately for them to recognise his disappearance by reporting a rape. Only it wasn’t Robert who raped her…or was it? The story then unfolds using alternate chapters to tell Naomi’s side of the story versus that of the police. Naomi’s not an easily likeable character and it takes the reader a while to work out what is going on in her head, but Charlie and Simon are instantly likeable.
Hannah uses both language that is lyrical and other devices (such as emails, police statements) to tell the story. In that way, she reminds me of Minette Walters but the story is original and doesn’t get bogged down the way some police procedurals do. Sure, the action does reach a crescendo as the pieces of the crime fall into place, but Hannah uses innovative details (such as Naomi being a sundial maker who once sold a font to Adobe) to make this original and very, very good.
Highly recommended! These books are also available as ebooks which I’ll probably make use of in the future.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Don’t stop reading at the mention of the word ‘series’. These books can easily be read alone and out of sequence (like the Brock and Kolla mysteries by Barry Maitland). Although they feature the same detectives (Charlie –female- and Simon) who seem to have some on-again, off-again relationship, their relationship is only a minor part of the backstory. The focus is on the crime, and what I’ve found unique in regards to this book (and it seems, the other books in the series from a quick flick) is that they offer both the police view and the view of the victim.
Hurting Distance opens with the victim, Naomi Jenkins, reporting the disappearance of her lover Robert. As Robert’s married and only meets Naomi once a week, the police aren’t terribly interested. Naomi then tries desperately for them to recognise his disappearance by reporting a rape. Only it wasn’t Robert who raped her…or was it? The story then unfolds using alternate chapters to tell Naomi’s side of the story versus that of the police. Naomi’s not an easily likeable character and it takes the reader a while to work out what is going on in her head, but Charlie and Simon are instantly likeable.
Hannah uses both language that is lyrical and other devices (such as emails, police statements) to tell the story. In that way, she reminds me of Minette Walters but the story is original and doesn’t get bogged down the way some police procedurals do. Sure, the action does reach a crescendo as the pieces of the crime fall into place, but Hannah uses innovative details (such as Naomi being a sundial maker who once sold a font to Adobe) to make this original and very, very good.
Highly recommended! These books are also available as ebooks which I’ll probably make use of in the future.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
gum1311by's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up when I was in New Orleans for a plane read. As usual, Sophie Hannah's story kept me turning the pages without a clue how it would end until it was ending. Terrific mystery!
celiaedf12's review against another edition
4.0
I am just in the mood for Sophie Hannah's thrillers at the moment - very fast paced, tense, slightly bizarre mysteries. Hurting Distance involves a very involved and fairly unbelievable resolution to the initial mystery of the disappearance of Robert Haworth - a married man with whom Naomi (who is just a little insane) has been having an affair. It gets much much weirder from there.
mwgerard's review against another edition
4.0
This gripping mystery from the UK is not for the faint of heart. Naomi, the main protagonist, has endured the most unspeakable of personal horrors yet found a way to carry on. So unspeakable that three years later her closest friends are still unaware of it. That is until she becomes obsessed with finding her missing lover. ...
My complete review is here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-truth-tellers-lie-by-sophie.html
My complete review is here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-truth-tellers-lie-by-sophie.html
emmalynn's review against another edition
2.0
If you're looking for plausibility, don't read this one!
As a fan of crime novels, I've read all kinds of far-fetched, intricated, improbable stories but this one takes the cake! There are far too many coincidences, unbelievable circumstances and all in all it doesn't ring true at all.
This said, it's still a page-turner, I couldn't put it down once I had started reading it and I also liked the heroine (Naomi, not Charlie), she was interesting, fierce and obsessive.
As a fan of crime novels, I've read all kinds of far-fetched, intricated, improbable stories but this one takes the cake! There are far too many coincidences, unbelievable circumstances and all in all it doesn't ring true at all.
This said, it's still a page-turner, I couldn't put it down once I had started reading it and I also liked the heroine (Naomi, not Charlie), she was interesting, fierce and obsessive.
bookishoutsider's review against another edition
4.0
A big improvement on Little Face with much tighter plot/story and more character development. I wish I'd had a chance to read all the Zailer/Waterhouse books before the recent television adaptation of Point Of Rescue (next up in my TBR mountain) as I'm reading the books and almost imprinting the tv version of them which is very frustrating.
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