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brincalbo's review against another edition
Nothing answered..
the writing was lovely...but through it all nothing is ever conclusively answered. there are other authors who employ the same methods but also manage to leave the reader satisfied.
the writing was lovely...but through it all nothing is ever conclusively answered. there are other authors who employ the same methods but also manage to leave the reader satisfied.
krin5292's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting mystery as family secrets are revealed a bit at a time. At first, the slowness of the narrative annoyed me, but overtime I began to appreciate the way Faith learned about her family's past along with the reader.
andrewspink's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this book up as I felt like a lightweight detective, seeing I was wanting to read something whilst a bit under the weather from the flu. It turned out that this book was much heavier than I had anticipated, but nevertheless extremely readable, and I certainly didn't regret it.
The characters were just brilliant, so complex and changing and engrossing. Especially the central character, Faith, is very interesting, and she is complicated by starting out as a child and ending up as an adult. So the book is a coming-of-age story, a detective and a psychological thriller, all in one. It is also a frame story, because we are told very early on 'whodunnit', and the plot is more about how it happened, and examines the question of how inevitable it was (or not).
As a further bonus, there were some nice nature descriptions. " The well... had very clean-looking weed like streaming hair growing in it.". That must be 'my' Ranunculus! Of course, "weed" is a pity.
I hadn't read any Ruth Rendell for years. Now I am wondering if they are all that good, or was this an exception.
The characters were just brilliant, so complex and changing and engrossing. Especially the central character, Faith, is very interesting, and she is complicated by starting out as a child and ending up as an adult. So the book is a coming-of-age story, a detective and a psychological thriller, all in one. It is also a frame story, because we are told very early on 'whodunnit', and the plot is more about how it happened, and examines the question of how inevitable it was (or not).
As a further bonus, there were some nice nature descriptions. " The well... had very clean-looking weed like streaming hair growing in it.". That must be 'my' Ranunculus! Of course, "weed" is a pity.
I hadn't read any Ruth Rendell for years. Now I am wondering if they are all that good, or was this an exception.
lucyisobel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
janey's review against another edition
4.0
Exactly what I needed and wanted. I'm ill and my attention span is affected, and so I needed something a little lighter to fill the spaces between naps. This was just on the border of incomprehensible to me, due to the somewhat complicated family tree, but at some point the pieces clicked together. This book is so different from the frantic pace of the Gone Girls and the Girl on the Trains that are shoved at us today, and yet so much more serious and thoughtful than the "cozy" mysteries in which the fact of a murder is taken rather lightly, and it is a much better book for these differences.
the_dire_raven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
hecaldwell's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t think I would enjoy this book I was surprised. The end I think could have been stronger. I felt the book sort of fizzled out towards the end. The main bulk of he book was so descriptive so I whipped through that element but as it came to an end I wanted it to end. I got a little bored
sadie4d's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
danbamkiwi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tomleetang's review against another edition
2.0
Rather mind-numbing detailing of family genealogies and other biographical minutiae meant to lend psychological depth. Reflects on memory while documenting life in the 40s. Not one of Ruth Rendell's strongest efforts.