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A review by buildingtaste
The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Wasn't expecting this one to get as intensely violent as it did, not that I mind. There's just no real indication from the copy I have that it's pretty hardcore on blood and torture.
This one is tough to review. Like a Shein tissue-paper dress inexplicably embroidered with masterwork Swarovski crystal beading, The Poison Thread takes great pains to evoke period details and clues to the central mystery, but is utterly slapdash in terms of overall construction. Ruth's narration is always in past tense, and is apparently in-character testimony given to Dorothea, but Dorothea's chapters waver between past and present tense without much reason, sometimes seeming to be an epistolary, sometimes in-the-moment narration. As the story picked up speed it seemed less and less likely there was even time for all of Ruth's lengthy confessionals.
This one is tough to review. Like a Shein tissue-paper dress inexplicably embroidered with masterwork Swarovski crystal beading, The Poison Thread takes great pains to evoke period details and clues to the central mystery, but is utterly slapdash in terms of overall construction. Ruth's narration is always in past tense, and is apparently in-character testimony given to Dorothea, but Dorothea's chapters waver between past and present tense without much reason, sometimes seeming to be an epistolary, sometimes in-the-moment narration. As the story picked up speed it seemed less and less likely there was even time for all of Ruth's lengthy confessionals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Pregnancy