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A review by portybelle
Sleeping Beauties by Jo Spain
5.0
Sleeping Beauties is the third in a series to feature DI Tom Reynolds and I thought it was just brilliant. I have read the other two books and although I wouldn't say it's essential to have read them first, I would recommend it because they are so good.
Jo Spain has achieved a perfect balance for me in this book between the actual case, the dynamics between Tom and his team and the victims' stories. The chapters from the women's points of view really added to the story for me as they weren't then just faceless victims but felt like more rounded people.
The book rattles along at a fair pace and it's the kind of book where just when I had decided it was time to stop reading at the end of the next chapter, I found I couldn't as I just had to know what happened next. As well as trying (and failing!) to work out who the killer could be and what their motives might be, I was really interested in the way the team worked together - or not, in case of the new boss - to try to solve the crimes. The relationships between them, though not a major part of the book, were developed really well throughout the book, particularly some of the personal relationships. There were some very poignant scenes, sensitively portrayed, between Tom and his ex-boss Sean, whose wife was suffering from dementia.
I found this to be an excellent addition to the Tom Reynolds series and I really do hope we meet him and his team again. Sleeping Beauties is an atmospheric mystery, well-plotted, where the darkness of the crimes contrasts perfectly with the beauty of the Irish landscape. It is full of unexpected twists and turns which will take you by surprise from the beginning of the book to the end.
Jo Spain has achieved a perfect balance for me in this book between the actual case, the dynamics between Tom and his team and the victims' stories. The chapters from the women's points of view really added to the story for me as they weren't then just faceless victims but felt like more rounded people.
The book rattles along at a fair pace and it's the kind of book where just when I had decided it was time to stop reading at the end of the next chapter, I found I couldn't as I just had to know what happened next. As well as trying (and failing!) to work out who the killer could be and what their motives might be, I was really interested in the way the team worked together - or not, in case of the new boss - to try to solve the crimes. The relationships between them, though not a major part of the book, were developed really well throughout the book, particularly some of the personal relationships. There were some very poignant scenes, sensitively portrayed, between Tom and his ex-boss Sean, whose wife was suffering from dementia.
I found this to be an excellent addition to the Tom Reynolds series and I really do hope we meet him and his team again. Sleeping Beauties is an atmospheric mystery, well-plotted, where the darkness of the crimes contrasts perfectly with the beauty of the Irish landscape. It is full of unexpected twists and turns which will take you by surprise from the beginning of the book to the end.