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sandysmith's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A solid series opener in the Dr Ruth Galloway series. I'm going to read more, I'm sure. She is a forensic archaeologist and is called in by DI Harry Nelson when bones are found amongst the salt marshes of Norfolk. The TV Series bones is probably based on these books to give a rough idea of the context. The bones that are found are from the iron age, which is sad for Harry as he wants closure on a case of a missing child Lucy from 10 years before. Another child goes missing. Letters are received by Harry through his investigation. Ruth becomes involved in the analysis of the letters, and another body is found. What I really disliked about the book was the fat phobia, and she isn't really fat. It was annoying at best, plus the killing of the cat was unnecessary. What I loved about the book were the descriptions of the salt marshes with them becoming a character in the book in it's own right. Overall, it was a really good crime based book, well written, good plot line, engaging with great characters (including the marshes), atmospheric, and a great read. I'm looking forward to the next adventures of Ruth and Harry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Pregnancy
swamp_rat's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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? No
2.5
Disclaimer/TLDR: the way I give star ratings means that three stars is your average well put together story, in my rating system this book is not bad and i would in fact recommend and loan this book to someone seeking a decent mystery novel.
Actual review: The atmosphere the author achieves in this book is really well done, some parts read as above average in their striking imagery or emotion or beauty, but i feel the rest of the story lacks the refinement of some of the prose. i had a good time while reading and the mystery was intriguing but looking back after the bad guy is revealed left me disappointed (more on this later).
The main character’s constant whining about being overweight (she really isn’t) and being a spinster while only being in her late thirties, was so uncomfortable and irrelevant to the story.The people writing the letters being separate from the person actually doing the kidnapping and murder was what really brought the mystery down for me. The killer (the real mystery in the murder mystery book) falls entirely flat after the personal betrayal of the letter writers. (It’s also unclear to me why of the many cases Nelson likely was involved in, they would get involved in the child abduction case? For Erik’s characterization it makes sense but around the time they started, Shona had maternal desire, and Cathbad had a daughter of his own (i also wish that Cathbad and his relation to Scarlet was explored as anything other than a twist.). ) While I did feel David was endearing, i feel like that worked against the emotion of the ending. His sudden shift from slightly grumpy but nice neighbor, to cartoon villain, detached from humanity feels odd, as if the author just wanted to get one more twist in. (Also David killing Sparky because he doesn’t like cats and yet explicitly taking good care of Flint, is one example of this shift.)
I have much more to say so I will continue this review later.
Actual review: The atmosphere the author achieves in this book is really well done, some parts read as above average in their striking imagery or emotion or beauty, but i feel the rest of the story lacks the refinement of some of the prose. i had a good time while reading and the mystery was intriguing but looking back after the bad guy is revealed left me disappointed (more on this later).
The main character’s constant whining about being overweight (she really isn’t) and being a spinster while only being in her late thirties, was so uncomfortable and irrelevant to the story.
I have much more to say so I will continue this review later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Police brutality, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Self harm, Abortion, and Pregnancy
bethr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The first in this series about a forensic archaeologist who helps solve crimes. I’m not sure where the series will go from here, but the main character is flawed and complex enough that I am already planning to return the next in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
singalana's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Risteyskohdat on sekavasta juonestaan ja kissanomistajia pöyristyttävistä juonenkäänteistään ihan mukiinmenevä thrilleri.
Risteyskohdat kertoo Ruth Gallowaysta, arkeologista, joka kutsutaan tutkimaan poliisin löytämiä luita. Etsivä Harry Nelson toivoo, että luut kuuluisivat kymmenen vuotta sitten kadonneelle tytölle, että tytön vanhemmat saisivat vihdoinkin vastauksia, mitä heidän kadonneelle lapselleen tapahtui.
Ruth Galloway on lähes neljäkympinen arkeologi, joka asuu yksin marskimaan laidalla. Hän soimaa itseään ylipainosta. Harry Nelson on etsivä jolla on kaunis vaimo ja kaksi tytärtä. Hahmot ovat suhteellisen hyvin toteutettuja, vaikka heissä omat vikansa onkin. Tarinakin on suhteellisen mielenkiintoinen, vaikka alkupuolella tuntuukin etenevän vähän hitaasti. Huomasin arvanneeni syyllisen melko alkupuolella, joten mitään kovin uutta kirja ei tältä osin tarjonnut.
Spoilereita!
Sitten päästään itse juoneen. Mielestäni ei ollut kovin loogista, että kirjeiden lähettäjä ja lasten katoamisesta vastuussa oleva olivat eri henkilöitä. Lisäksi en pidä siitä tavasta, miten lopussa syyllisille kävi köpelösti, ja miten sekaisin tekijät lopulta olivat. Se tuntui kummalliselta.
Oma lukunsa on tietysti Ruthin ja Nelsonin tekoset, ja varsinkin lopun paljastus… En usko, että jatkan enää tätä sarjaa, vaikka kirja ihan suhteellisen viihdyttävä olikin.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
zelephante's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
zosiablue's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Ahh what a satisfying cozy mystery. Just what I needed. Light murder/kidnapping, heavy archeological bent, a little romance but not enough to annoy, and a spooky-ass saltmarsh. I'm so glad there's like 15 more books in this series. Though not without fault - there was some unsavory animal violence & anti-fat bias (though only the main character referring to herself). But I'm ready to read 15 more stories about archaeologist Ruth Galloway and her cats.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Murder, and Dysphoria
Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy
kriisivanukas's review against another edition
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think I'll be very interested to read the whole Ruth Galloway series. This first book is a great, well written thriller. I love the archaeology side of the story and Galloway and Nelson are a great pair of characters to follow.
The setting is so desolate and beautiful, I loved every scene on the Saltmarsh. The way Ruth is drawn to it no matter how lonely or eerie it feels says a lot about how complex a character she is.
There are a lot of red herrings thrown around throughout the plot, designed to add suspicion to everyone. But unfortunately I guessed the ending pretty early on and didn't really waver in my verdict. But it doesn't happen often and it didn't take much away from the book! There were also a few touches I didn't predict to keep me guessing right to the end, and I love some of the little set ups that are in place for the next book.
The setting is so desolate and beautiful, I loved every scene on the Saltmarsh. The way Ruth is drawn to it no matter how lonely or eerie it feels says a lot about how complex a character she is.
There are a lot of red herrings thrown around throughout the plot, designed to add suspicion to everyone. But unfortunately I guessed the ending pretty early on and didn't really waver in my verdict. But it doesn't happen often and it didn't take much away from the book! There were also a few touches I didn't predict to keep me guessing right to the end, and I love some of the little set ups that are in place for the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Police brutality
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
Minor: Religious bigotry
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, and Abortion
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