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brewsandbooks 's review for:
The Fields
by Erin Young
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was an interesting procedural. I enjoyed figuring out the mystery, and that it was actually a pretty straightforward mystery. Young didn't try to layer a mystery in so many folds that you couldn't possibly figure out some of the things going on, but there was still a bit of the fantastical that lends itself to surprise. I also enjoyed that we were dealing with a sergeant and Young orchestrated her job and she wasn't just a regular detective. It made sense that she was overseeing but also managing her team. I wish we had seen more of that overall because it would have made her feel more capable.
I also enjoyed that this was not such a small town to be contrived. It was a midwestern small city and that made sense. The character also made sense in the world. She was capable and didn't deteriorate fully during this ordeal, which was great to see. Also, she seemed to understand some of the complexities of farming life and small v. big farming. I enjoyed seeing a different group of people represented in a mystery. That doesn't often happen.
But there were a few things that stopped me from absolutely loving this book as a procedural. One, it felt like Young was throwing all the things at this character. We are dealing with past trauma, me too, drug abuse and substance abuse in the family, and governmental conspiracies. It was just a lot to put into one book and felt like she lost me in a lot of places. I felt like this novel would have been more effective had she tried to make a well crafted novel in one or two of these lanes and it felt like a bit of a mess when looking at all the layered details. One of the primary antagonists was someone I was confused as to who he was at the end. Further, some of the big bads felt a bit contrived and silly overall. Last, I really felt some of the views were a bit conservative for the sake of "small town" thoughts when that wasn't well earned. The protagonist comes off as hypocritical and as a person who is being blamed as a victim in the same breath. I felt a bit confused as to the author's own intent with some of the beliefs the book espouses overall. This was fixed with some plot twists, but also it made me a bit disappointed overall.
Thank you NetGalley and Flat Iron for an ARC for this honest review.
I also enjoyed that this was not such a small town to be contrived. It was a midwestern small city and that made sense. The character also made sense in the world. She was capable and didn't deteriorate fully during this ordeal, which was great to see. Also, she seemed to understand some of the complexities of farming life and small v. big farming. I enjoyed seeing a different group of people represented in a mystery. That doesn't often happen.
But there were a few things that stopped me from absolutely loving this book as a procedural. One, it felt like Young was throwing all the things at this character. We are dealing with past trauma, me too, drug abuse and substance abuse in the family, and governmental conspiracies. It was just a lot to put into one book and felt like she lost me in a lot of places. I felt like this novel would have been more effective had she tried to make a well crafted novel in one or two of these lanes and it felt like a bit of a mess when looking at all the layered details. One of the primary antagonists was someone I was confused as to who he was at the end. Further, some of the big bads felt a bit contrived and silly overall. Last, I really felt some of the views were a bit conservative for the sake of "small town" thoughts when that wasn't well earned. The protagonist comes off as hypocritical and as a person who is being blamed as a victim in the same breath. I felt a bit confused as to the author's own intent with some of the beliefs the book espouses overall. This was fixed with some plot twists, but also it made me a bit disappointed overall.
Thank you NetGalley and Flat Iron for an ARC for this honest review.