hq_reads's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
audreyintheheadphones's review
3.0
A decent entry in the Rhoda MacLeod canon, with massive spoilers for Final Cut and references to almost all the other books, too, which gave the whole thing a feeling of continuity and shared-worldness. Still, with all the subplots in this episode, the book felt unfinished and a little stretched. The central crime -- that of a pregnant teenager whose fetus is cut from her womb at a funfair -- never entirely gelled, in large part because no one seemed really interested in finding the baby, despite the oft-repeated assertion that it was surely alive when taken.
But the strength of the series is the characters, both recurring and episodic, and here's no exception. These books read not a little unlike a crime-focused soap opera -- and that's a good thing.
Rhoda remains as prickly as ever, and even a little mercenary and mean (which I love). So while the central crime could've been stronger, the central focus of the book, Rhoda and her team, remained as strong as ever.
But the strength of the series is the characters, both recurring and episodic, and here's no exception. These books read not a little unlike a crime-focused soap opera -- and that's a good thing.
Rhoda remains as prickly as ever, and even a little mercenary and mean (which I love). So while the central crime could've been stronger, the central focus of the book, Rhoda and her team, remained as strong as ever.
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