Reviews

One cold morning in January, a river running through a park in Cardiff offers up the corpse of a young woman who has been brutalised before being dumped into its watery grave. Detective Inspector Alex King is called to the scene but, before the culprit can be caught, another girl goes missing leaving Alex and her team anxious that a serial killer might be on the loose.

While The Girls In The Water is the introductory novel to the Detectives King and Lane series, the feel of the story gives the impression that you are joining in its middle. It's not a bad sensation as the well-established characters are thoughtfully introduced and the relationships between these are easily determined. I found it akin to joining a new office and having to adapt slowly to its rhythms.

The investigation was not without its quirks. Some were clever twists that enticed the reader away from the solution while others were not so successful and felt almost clunky in their attempts to add red herrings. Overall, I liked the way the unit functioned and enjoyed the interactions between the officers.

Victoria Jenkins is a new-to-me author and I look forward to reading more of her works, especially this series.

mouselibrarydaria's review

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dark tense medium-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

4.0

daneeverploegen's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

vesper1931's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

When a body is discovered D.I. Alex King and her team investigate. But D.C. Chloe Lane's mind is not totally on the job. But that of her brother's assumed guilt of murder 8 years ago and his consequent suicide. Can the cases be resolved.
An entertaining modern mystery.

charlotte97's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

hiashleigh's review

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2.0

I had high hopes for this book based on the fact it started off really good - that typical excitement of trying to work out "who did it". But towards the end it just started to fall flat. The plot started to go all over the show, some of the storyline's weren't wrapped up well and it was a fairly lengthy read for a pretty bland ending. The female characters are meant to be strong but start to unravel and almost become a bit immature - considering their roles within the police this made no sense.

drewett's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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