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A review by imijen
A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh
2.0
I liked this enough that I would read the next in the series whenever it comes out and try some of the author's other work, but I don't think this was a great or very original mystery. There were some high points: I love the London setting, the protagonist Stevie, and the little details that Welsh adds to this setting and character. Unfortunately, the two overriding aspects of the plot, the virus that is taking thousands of lives and the mystery surrounding the death of Stevie's boyfriend, both fell flat for me.
The epidemic seemed way to remote at times and Stevie a little too disinterested in the supposed disaster that was gripping the capital. I get it, she is "immune", but I don't think that means she's not in danger or would not have any concern for what was going on. I thought I should be a lot more horrified about the "sweats" than I was, but Welsh descriptions of the virus seemed almost tame, meaning I found this strand of the novel pretty underwhelming.
The mystery murder felt contrived and way too obvious, and unlike the virus I found Stevie too interested in it. Many of the characters pointed this out to her, that really with the city on the edge of collapse finding the culprit of the murder should not be her most pressing priority right now. I have to say I agree with them. There are two possible explanations given for Stevie's over-interest. Firstly, she is an ex-journalist and so has a constant urge to find truth and justice. This just doesn't ring true for me, as if this were the case I feel like she would have been more interested in the virus as well. Secondly, that she was deeply in love with Simon. Again this just doesn't work: for one she only knew Simon for 3 months and made it quite clear that the relationship wasn't all that serious (it was mainly about the sex, she didn't really know Simon at all and she couldn't see that much of a future for the relationship). I'm not saying that she wouldn't care at all about Simon's death, but it just seemed unnatural that Stevie would be so obsessed with solving the murder mystery immediately with everything else that was going on, which makes me think that as there are basically two disjointed "plots", Welsh would have been better off keeping them separate and writing two different books.
I'm also confused about how both the title and the prologue (which I really liked and was waiting to be explained) fit in with the novel. Maybe this will become clearer later in the trilogy?
The epidemic seemed way to remote at times and Stevie a little too disinterested in the supposed disaster that was gripping the capital. I get it, she is "immune", but I don't think that means she's not in danger or would not have any concern for what was going on. I thought I should be a lot more horrified about the "sweats" than I was, but Welsh descriptions of the virus seemed almost tame, meaning I found this strand of the novel pretty underwhelming.
The mystery murder felt contrived and way too obvious, and unlike the virus I found Stevie too interested in it. Many of the characters pointed this out to her, that really with the city on the edge of collapse finding the culprit of the murder should not be her most pressing priority right now. I have to say I agree with them. There are two possible explanations given for Stevie's over-interest. Firstly, she is an ex-journalist and so has a constant urge to find truth and justice. This just doesn't ring true for me, as if this were the case I feel like she would have been more interested in the virus as well. Secondly, that she was deeply in love with Simon. Again this just doesn't work: for one she only knew Simon for 3 months and made it quite clear that the relationship wasn't all that serious (it was mainly about the sex, she didn't really know Simon at all and she couldn't see that much of a future for the relationship). I'm not saying that she wouldn't care at all about Simon's death, but it just seemed unnatural that Stevie would be so obsessed with solving the murder mystery immediately with everything else that was going on, which makes me think that as there are basically two disjointed "plots", Welsh would have been better off keeping them separate and writing two different books.
Spoiler
On a slight side note, in the climax of the novel, this "great love" between Stevie and Simon is used as an explanation to why she survived the sweats. "'There is a theory that believing yourself in love can subtly alter the chemical compounds of the body [...] It's possible that your love for Simon is a factor in why you're still alive.'" I can't decide whether this is a joke or not? It doesn't read like a joke to me, but if it's not then this is completely ridiculous, as I'm sure many more people would have survived the sweats if it was a simple as loving someone as much as or more than Stevie loved Simon.I'm also confused about how both the title and the prologue (which I really liked and was waiting to be explained) fit in with the novel. Maybe this will become clearer later in the trilogy?