whathillarygraceread's reviews
34 reviews

The Survivors by Jane Harper

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I'm a huge Jane Harper fan - The Lost Man is one of my favorite books - and I liked this more than Force of Nature, but not as much as The Dry and The Lost Man. The story is good and I like that there are some deeper themes examined, but the ending left me feeling a little meh. Landscapes are looming characters in all of Harper's books and the Tasmanian Coast was the perfect setting for this story.
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A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I am a huge Inspector Gamache fan and Louise Penny can do no wrong. I'm inching my way towards the end of this series and have been hoarding the last few books and doling them out slowly so I don't go through them too quickly 😆.

While I love Inspector Gamache, this is not one of the stronger books in the series. It's not bad, but not a standout either. Even though this is not one of the stronger installments, it's a vital read for those working through the series from start to finish as there are large developments in the story arcs of some of the longstanding characters. And diving headfirst into a Louise Penny book is never a bad way to end the year. 
Running Home by Katie Arnold

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
I am not abandoning this forever, but I have to be in the mood for what I'm reading and right now all I want to do is curl up with thrillers and mysteries. 
A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

First, the good. Keller wrote this book in 2012, before most of the rest of the nation was aware that there was an opioid crisis sweeping the state of West Virginia that would soon overtake the whole nation. As I was reading, I was continually struck at how prescient Keller was about the social determinants of health that breed drug addiction and what widespread addiction would do to rural communities. You can tell when someone writes about a place they really love, even when that place is hard to love, and you can tell that Keller loves rural W. Virginia. Those of us who grew up in small towns know how fraught coming home is and how hard the decision to stay or go is and Keller has captured that in this book beautifully.
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Now for the things I didn't love. The first is one of the book's subplots that involves a potential defendant with an intellectual and developmental disability, I think Keller included this subplot to show us that the main character is a think before she charges prosecutor, but the whole story line was pretty ableist and turned me off. The second thing that I didn't love is that while I don't think it was necessarily Keller’s intention, there were times that I felt the story judging and blaming those struggling with addiction. I know this was written a decade ago and we've come a long ways in the awareness of substance use disorder, but it kind of put a damper on my excitement for the book. 

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