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thomas_edmund 's review for:
U is for Undertow
by Sue Grafton
I had originally thought that entering a series at the 21st instalment was a bad plan, but the thought of trudging through U is for Undertows predecessors was somewhat paralysing. Luckily if you are in the same boat, I can totally reassure you that Grafton’s master writing skills prevent any need for backstory. Sure there was a bit (well maybe a lot of) information dump at the start of the novel which I promptly forgot, but the story was fine to follow from that perspective.
I was also worried, because authors who pump out endless masses of thrillers tend to produce such pulpy and superficial works that reading them is worse for one’s brain cells than bashing your own head against a wall.
My worry was misappropriated.
With Undertow, Sue Grafton proves herself to be a brilliant story weaver, introducing just the right number of characters, and blending science, insight and drama into a great book. Undertow is a slightly unusual story in that the main drama is a twenty year old kidnapping that was never solved. Grafton does attempt to tense up the story with an unfortunate piece of blunt foreshadowing but in the end the story is actually more interesting from a character drama point of view, in particular the difficult relationships of the original victim’s family – a pair of upper class parents with an advantage taking hippy son –
The main plot is compelling although it does have a slightly ridiculous line towards the end where the main character congratulates a one of the criminals on staying sober for ten days (maybe it was sarcasm but it didn’t come across very well)
Undertow is a cut above the rest, a truly intelligent thriller well worth looking into (still not entirely sure if I can stand reading the previous 20 books yet)
I was also worried, because authors who pump out endless masses of thrillers tend to produce such pulpy and superficial works that reading them is worse for one’s brain cells than bashing your own head against a wall.
My worry was misappropriated.
With Undertow, Sue Grafton proves herself to be a brilliant story weaver, introducing just the right number of characters, and blending science, insight and drama into a great book. Undertow is a slightly unusual story in that the main drama is a twenty year old kidnapping that was never solved. Grafton does attempt to tense up the story with an unfortunate piece of blunt foreshadowing but in the end the story is actually more interesting from a character drama point of view, in particular the difficult relationships of the original victim’s family – a pair of upper class parents with an advantage taking hippy son –
The main plot is compelling although it does have a slightly ridiculous line towards the end where the main character congratulates a one of the criminals on staying sober for ten days (maybe it was sarcasm but it didn’t come across very well)
Undertow is a cut above the rest, a truly intelligent thriller well worth looking into (still not entirely sure if I can stand reading the previous 20 books yet)