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A review by croscot
The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Wrong Hands is the second book with DI Declan Miller as the main character, but the first one I’ve read from the series. The sequel does a decent job on recapping the events from the first instalment, so the reader doesn’t feel too confused.
Without going into too much detail to avoid potential spoilers, I'll say that the plot revolves around DI Declan Miller who is investigating a murder which quickly turns into two. The catch is - he knows exactly who the culprit is, but the man is frustratingly elusive. Can Miller and his team get to the murderer in time, before more people get hurt? And, more importantly, will this arrest help him to learn the identity of his wife’s killer?
Personally, I think the book wasn’t bad, even though I thought that the logic of some of the characters started faltering after one crucial point in the investigation. As in, someone who we’ve been made to believe to be quite smart just ignored a very obvious lead? Didn’t investigate further? Didn’t do a more thorough background check? Weird. Additionally, some parts of the story felt unnecessarily long - sometimes it was hard to keep paying attention to what was happening or remember where we were supposed to be going next because the characters just. Went. On. And on. And on. And unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of the main character. I could sympathise with Miller’s grief over the dead wife, and I could understand the anger he felt over the fact that her murderer still wasn’t caught, but his behaviour was akin to bullying on more than a few occasions.
However, I’d still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys police procedurals. It has its fair share of mystery, drama, and iconic British humour.
Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic, for sending me the ARC for an honest review!
Without going into too much detail to avoid potential spoilers, I'll say that the plot revolves around DI Declan Miller who is investigating a murder which quickly turns into two. The catch is - he knows exactly who the culprit is, but the man is frustratingly elusive. Can Miller and his team get to the murderer in time, before more people get hurt? And, more importantly, will this arrest help him to learn the identity of his wife’s killer?
Personally, I think the book wasn’t bad, even though I thought that the logic of some of the characters started faltering after one crucial point in the investigation. As in, someone who we’ve been made to believe to be quite smart just ignored a very obvious lead? Didn’t investigate further? Didn’t do a more thorough background check? Weird. Additionally, some parts of the story felt unnecessarily long - sometimes it was hard to keep paying attention to what was happening or remember where we were supposed to be going next because the characters just. Went. On. And on. And on. And unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of the main character. I could sympathise with Miller’s grief over the dead wife, and I could understand the anger he felt over the fact that her murderer still wasn’t caught, but his behaviour was akin to bullying on more than a few occasions.
However, I’d still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys police procedurals. It has its fair share of mystery, drama, and iconic British humour.
Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic, for sending me the ARC for an honest review!