lucypreston's reviews
267 reviews

Murder at the Bonfire by Penny Blackwell

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was really excited about the idea of a Bonfire night murder mystery however this book didn't work for me. The book seemed to loose focus fairly often and would go off on tangents into other things happening in the characters lives and forget to actually progress with the mystery element of the book. I found that in particular the author tried to force romantic relationships between a lot of the characters which destroyed the momentum of the mystery and felt extremely forced. This book is the second book in a series which I didn't realise when I picked it up so maybe the relationships would've felt more natural had I read the first book.

I found the ending very rushed and the entire mystery is summarised in the penultimate chapter. I couldn't see how any of the clues in the rest of the book would lead you to the conclusion so the rest of the book felt like it was just killing time before the big reveal.

A Lesson in Cruelty by Harriet Tyce

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 This book aims to explore the efficacy of the prison system in the UK by following three separate women's stories which all converge at the end. I thought the premise sounded intriguing however I really didn't like the execution. The three individual stories were all fairly boring and I didn't connect with any of the characters so wasn't invested in this book at all. The way the stories connect up wasn't very seamless and it felt very forced. The ending of this felt very rushed and the author attempts to explain away a lot of the loose ends in the closing sentences of the novel.

I listened to this as an audiobook and found that the narration further lessened my enjoyment of this book. The narrator must have caught a cold at around the halfway mark whilst recording this as she becomes increasingly nasal as the book goes on which was very unpleasant to listen to. 

She Taught Me Everything by Amy Smith Linton

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This book is over 400 pages and NOTHING happens. For around 450 pages we follow Nicola as she goes to the hospital to visit her sister Viv who is in a coma. She then comes home to feed Viv’s dogs and snoop through Viv’s diaries. This happens on loop for the entire book and was so frustrating to try and get through.

It was so slow and took me 3 weeks to read when usually I read 2 books a week. I didn’t feel invested in the characters at all and found the bits of backstory that we do get extremely boring and irrelevant.

One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was absolutely incredible! The audiobook had a great cast of voice actors and the inclusion of different types of media such as podcasts, tweets and radio reports made the mystery in this feel so real and it was like listening to a true crime documentary. 
In terms of plot this gave off major Gone Girl vibes and the plot twists were jaw dropping. This book was infuriating and anger inducing in the best way possible and I need a film adaptation of this ASAP! 

The Sleeping and the Dead by Ann Cleeves

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The ending of this book didn't feel like it made much sense and wasn't a satisfying conclusion at all. Aside from that, I found this quite slow at times and there were so many characters who were introduced so it was difficult to know who was who and how they were connected to the crimes. 

I listened to this as an audiobook and thought John Telfer did a great job with the narration. The range of voices made it very easy to follow and entertaining to listen to.

Shot In The Dark by Anna Britton

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was so fast paced and I loved the dynamic between the two detectives. The mystery was fascinating and each chapter ended on a mini reveal so it was impossible to put the book down.

The ending was absolutely insane and I need the next book in this series ASAP!

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really liked the ending and reveal in this one. Overall it wasn’t my favourite Agatha Christie I’ve ever read but still easy to get through and entertaining!

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Holly Jackson is the absolute queen of YA thrillers and this was another great one. It took a while to get into at the beginning but by the end the plot twists were coming thick and fast and I loved it!

The Cat Who Solved Three Murders by L.T. Shearer

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a fun, fast-paced read and I was never bored while reading it. It wasn’t ground breaking but was a good time nevertheless.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This book spent too much time trying to be different and edgy that it forgot to be entertaining.

We barely get introduced to the characters so I wasn’t invested in the murder mystery at all and I hated the ending.

The author clearly can write well and the premise was promising but unfortunately this didn’t work for me.