Reviews

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

jojobear_'s review against another edition

1.0

i literally only got to chapter 4 and i got so incredibly bored. like i was falling asleep reading it lol. it didn’t interest me from the start and i really tried my best to keep going but my willpower was not strong enough lol. i physically could not go any farther. with each chapter, a little bit of my soul died. definitely not the vibes, it was not giving. very anti-slay #notgirlboss

annemariewellswriter's review against another edition

3.0

This book reminded me a lot of Jessica Jones if she didn't have mutant strength. Claire DeWitt is cold, jaded, guarded, distant, drug user - but incredibly smart and uses her emotional detachment to be pragmatic and logical throughout her investigation. I wasn't particularly moved by the book, and am not dying to crack into the next one, but it was fine.

zermaslan's review against another edition

2.0

Tal vez sea una buena historia, con un mediocre misterio y una pésima protagonista. Comencé a leer este libro muy entusiasmado y me decepcionó de una manera espantosa, Claire en unos cuantos capítulos pasa de ser un personaje medianamente interesante a un cliché con voz, vacío, llena de acciones y frases repetitivas y un caracter que termina cansando.

La historia no es tan mala, pero es un misterio mediocre, llena de giros predecibles y resolución de pistas con epifanías, deducciones muy detalladas pero sin fundamento y una gran cantidad de personajes arquetípicos, me dejó un mal sabor de boca y por desgracia no me quedaron ganas de leer nada más de Sara Gran.

dondodd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

nerdyrev's review against another edition

4.0

Set in post Katrina New Orleans, it is the twisty story of who killed Vic. Claire DeWitt is such an interesting character and the use of dreams to help her solve the crime was an interesting take as she knows what is happening, but just can't see it for herself. New Orleans really comes alive in this book, but it isn't the Bourbon St tourist part, but rather the real parts of single and doublewides. It is where the neighborhood people are. DeWitt herself isn't a characterture either as she struggles, gets high, loses thought, and has baggage. My only complaint, if there is one, it ends at least 3 times, but then keeps going each time. I enjoyed it.

afox98's review against another edition

3.0

Claire DeWitt is the self-proclaimed best detective in the world who's recruited back to New Orleans to find a missing district attorney. The DA went missing during Hurricane Katrina, which complicates things since many went missing at that time. Claire's been a little lost since her mentor Constance passed away and she vowed never to return to NOLA. A great representation of New Orleans post-Katrina and its sense of despair, with a little hope thrown in for good measure.

nglofile's review against another edition

5.0

There are several aspects of Claire that should turn me off: alcohol, drugs, pseudo-mysticism, rudeness, vulgarity, propensity to hide her conclusions from the reader. Yet, I find myself drawn to and fascinated by her all the same. Her first-person narration, hard-boiled female PI persona, and even an endorsement by Sue Grafton all invite comparisons to Kinsey Millhone, and they aren't unwarranted. Kinsey is still superior (as is Grafton), but the two characters are believable counterparts. The New Orleans setting was well-utilized, and I appreciated another post-Katrina perspective that complements the superb story-telling of Treme.

audiobook note: Reader Carol Monda doesn't effectively distinguish voices, but it's forgivable in a first-person narration. Her voice is sharp, husky, and dry -- all ideal for Claire. Her performance earned the fifth star in my rating.

themorbidcorvid's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition

5.0

It took me a while to get into this one, but once I did I loved it. For a while there I feared this private detective mystery would veer into cutesy quirkiness but luckily it didn't. It is more sad than kooky, describing the post-Katrina New Orleans and its survivors. Claire Dewitt may be a hard-drinking, pot-smoking, gun-toting eccentric who's been officially declared insane by the state of Utah, but she is also smart and compassionate and surprisingly level-headed when faced with danger. While solving a murder case and pondering the mystery of a vanished best friend, she makes friends with murder suspects, homeless people and a rat named Boo. There is also a somewhat happy ending which pleased me, since these characters really deserve a second chance. Looking forward to the next DeWitt-mystery.

panohchoc's review against another edition

4.0

This one felt sort of fresh and different. It had mystical tone to it I haven't seen in any other mystery books. Claire is among just a handful followers of a renowned French detective Jacques Silette. And the book kind of calls to certain people. Seems like you can't really understand what it means unless you were meant to understand it. She goes by intuition and dreams and "coincidences" (Silette says "there are no coincidences, only mysteries that haven't been solved, clues that haven't been placed"). I liked the vibe. I'll keep going in the series.