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haz_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first Shetland book or the other Cleeve’s novels I’ve read. I do always enjoy the plot and the murder mystery; I think Cleeves is able to really dive into a community that has experienced a murder and make us feel like we’re there too, questioning people alongside Perez. As it’s the second book, I also did enjoy the focus on Perez’s personal life such as his relationship with Fran as I do really like Perez as a character.
What I didn’t particularly enjoy was the ending. I felt slightly cheated that the murderer wasn’t revealed by themselves but through a third party and that we then never actually heard from the murderer about how and why. I also felt like the ending wasn’t wholly believable (I know crime novels can be far fetched but I’ve always felt Cleeves novels to feel quite capable of being true). The murderer is never who I expect it to be which is what I like, I like to be surprised, and Cleeves always has a slight mis-direct before the reveal but in this book I felt disappointed.
What I didn’t particularly enjoy was the ending. I felt slightly cheated that the murderer wasn’t revealed by themselves but through a third party and that we then never actually heard from the murderer about how and why. I also felt like the ending wasn’t wholly believable (I know crime novels can be far fetched but I’ve always felt Cleeves novels to feel quite capable of being true). The murderer is never who I expect it to be which is what I like, I like to be surprised, and Cleeves always has a slight mis-direct before the reveal but in this book I felt disappointed.
agmaynard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Well narrated, a highlight of the experience. Here again, I had a different person in mind ( never mind the motivations) and the actual person revealed was unconvincing in several ways. Bah. Atmospheric as always.
starryworlds's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Re-read from the 6th April to the 23rd April.
As this is my second time reading this, I actually thought I would remember what happens in this book. I'm surprised that I didn't. I was completely surprised at whodunit. I also didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the first time round and I also had a few problems with it.
One of the two reasons why I'm lowering the rating is that there was far too much build up in the first time 200 pages. I think this book would have been better if it was a 100 pages shorter.
The second reason why I've lowered the rating is due to the blatant sexist comments against men and women. I'm going to quote one of these comments: "He heard a child's voice in the background and thought that was the problem with women in the service. Work never came first with them. It was either their men or their kids." Comments like that one appeared very often in this book. I would see one every 20-50 pages. There were comments about what female characters were wearing, old fashioned sexist attitudes about both women and men, frequently calling men 'weak' when they couldn't do particular physical activity that a majority of the men do on the island.
These comments are very inappropriate and they made me feel both uncomfortable and annoyed. These comments came from 3 characters POVs. I would have personally preferred it if these comments weren't in this book. One of these characters weren't sexist in the first book.
I definitely won't be re-reading this book again.
Re-read from the 6th April to the 23rd April.
As this is my second time reading this, I actually thought I would remember what happens in this book. I'm surprised that I didn't. I was completely surprised at whodunit. I also didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the first time round and I also had a few problems with it.
One of the two reasons why I'm lowering the rating is that there was far too much build up in the first time 200 pages. I think this book would have been better if it was a 100 pages shorter.
The second reason why I've lowered the rating is due to the blatant sexist comments against men and women. I'm going to quote one of these comments: "He heard a child's voice in the background and thought that was the problem with women in the service. Work never came first with them. It was either their men or their kids." Comments like that one appeared very often in this book. I would see one every 20-50 pages. There were comments about what female characters were wearing, old fashioned sexist attitudes about both women and men, frequently calling men 'weak' when they couldn't do particular physical activity that a majority of the men do on the island.
These comments are very inappropriate and they made me feel both uncomfortable and annoyed. These comments came from 3 characters POVs. I would have personally preferred it if these comments weren't in this book. One of these characters weren't sexist in the first book.
I definitely won't be re-reading this book again.
mizele20's review against another edition
4.0
I did not predict the ending. There were so many different character involvements. I plan to watch Shetland again to see how these stories are wrapped into the series.
dxlt's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really love the Ann Cleeves novels that I’ve listened to thus far. The Shetland and Two Rivers series are sheer perfection in plot and narration. I’ve read them described as ASMR in audiobook form and I couldn’t agree more. I cannot recommend either of these series enough and I really love the emphasis on regional accents and cultures in both of these series which couldn’t take place further apart in the UK.
childdeirdre's review against another edition
3.0
It has its moments where it is gripping but, on the whole, the story drags unnecessarily and half of the characters are daft. I think I'm going to give up on this series and stick to the fantastic BBC show.
valerixia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Writing was engaging and good. Plot and characters kinda blended into one, which didn't help with the Whodunnit aspect... but I didn't really care about the characters to give a damn either way. None of them felt interesting or likeable. Felt like the female murderer at the end was meant to be a shocker, but I was so fed up trying to keep track of who fancied who when i just wanted ro finish it so I could say I had....