mindsplinters 's review for:

Death Of A Hollow Man by Caroline Graham

2.0

mysterious fast-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: Yes

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Not going to lie - I have trouble seeing how this book series became the basis for the fairly charming Midsommer Mysteries series.  There is nothing technically wrong with Graham's writing style and she certainly crafts a complicated, layered mystery.  Plus she creates a vivid world.  The problem for me continues to be the absolute horrible-ness of nearly every character you find in the pages of these books.  This one especially was rough.  Out of an enormous cast, only Tom himself and Joyce and poor put-upon Deidre come across as human and likeable and sympathetic.  I suppose you could add David, Colin, and Deidre's dad... Oh, and Sunny because who doesn't love a sweet puppy dog.  Graham could have replaced the victim with a number of the other cast members and I would have been just as happy.  Troy, in particular, was ATROCIOUS.

Tom is too good for these people.  Sigh.