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gregsgal 's review for:
The Devil's Grin
by Annelie Wendeberg
I quite liked this book. Anna was a believable, smart, and sympathetic heroine and Holmes was smart, slightly snarky, and had the right amount of condescension. I felt the other characters were well described and had specific voices and characteristics that made them distinctive. I also liked the plot - medical testing done on the less fortunate and a secret club performing the tests. Anna and Sherlock are on the case and trying to figure out who's doing what and why. Unfortunately, this isn't a stand alone book, but the first in a series. I was unaware of that before reading it, so instead of closure, you're left waiting until the next book comes out to find out what happens. Boo for me (and you) until that second book comes out.
There were two things I disliked. First was the change in point of view. The book is told in three parts - Anna, Anton, and Sherlock. Part one was told in Anna's first person POV. Considering Anna and Anton are the same person, you would expect those parts to be told from the same first person POV. Instead, part two switched to third person and occasionally slipped back into first person. Part three was also told in first person, but not Sherlock's so I don't entirely understand labeling each section with a different character since it doesn't change narrator. I thought perhaps part two was told in third person to make the reader feel like they were experiencing Anna/Anton watching her own actions without being attached to them, but I'm not entirely sure. If this was the intent, I guess it worked? Otherwise I felt it was kind of distracting.
The second thing that was bothersome to me was the editing. There were instances where the author meant to write were and wrote where instead. Same with loosing when losing was the correct word in the sentence. I realize that most people would overlook things like this, it just bothers me because it's simple spelling that's incorrect and it makes me stop and reread a sentence to determine what was meant.
There were two things I disliked. First was the change in point of view. The book is told in three parts - Anna, Anton, and Sherlock. Part one was told in Anna's first person POV. Considering Anna and Anton are the same person, you would expect those parts to be told from the same first person POV. Instead, part two switched to third person and occasionally slipped back into first person. Part three was also told in first person, but not Sherlock's so I don't entirely understand labeling each section with a different character since it doesn't change narrator. I thought perhaps part two was told in third person to make the reader feel like they were experiencing Anna/Anton watching her own actions without being attached to them, but I'm not entirely sure. If this was the intent, I guess it worked? Otherwise I felt it was kind of distracting.
The second thing that was bothersome to me was the editing. There were instances where the author meant to write were and wrote where instead. Same with loosing when losing was the correct word in the sentence. I realize that most people would overlook things like this, it just bothers me because it's simple spelling that's incorrect and it makes me stop and reread a sentence to determine what was meant.