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vwalker3's review against another edition
5.0
Ann Cleeves is a masterful story-teller. This is a nearly perfect mystery, filled with kept secrets and shared guilt. I thought the Shetland series might be a letdown after Vera Stanhope, but Jimmy Perez is equally interesting and complex. A wonderful read!
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
1.0
Reading this was like wading through treacle. Hard going and slow. There were some good points but not many and I'm annoyed with myself for sticking with it to end, I should have given up at 100 pages.
The writing style is fine. Cleeves has a truncated, blunt sort of style. Short sentences that make reading fairly easy and vivid descriptions which paint the setting very clearly.
There was also a thought out and interesting plot hidden within the pages.
Here Endeth the praise.
There was little emotion in this book despite the fact that it should have had a lot of emotion at times. Jimmy was quite flat, he barely seemed human in his interactions. As the main narrative voice I felt that I should have known him better than I did.
I didn't like the romance between Jimmy and Fran. Neither seemed to take it seriously. She went off with a pretty face for lunch despite Jimmy and he fantasised about an actress with Fran sitting a metre away. They didn't seem that in to each other and so I wasn't in to them either.
I disliked Taylor. Were we supposed to like him? He was rude and arrogant, competitive to an obsessive degree. All round I did not like his character.
I have no idea why Kenny was a narrator. His chapters were so dull that by the end I was skipping huge chunks.
The pacing was so bad. So very slow and plodding. There was barely any progression of the history behind the murders so we just kept getting more and more bodies but no more information. The whole police work seemed shoddy and Jimmy guessing the killer at the end was so random. He had no evidence but he just knew things.
So much time was spent setting the scene and telling us about the locations and life in Shetland that the plot was totally forgotten. Literally in the middle of an investigation and Jimmy spent 3 pages telling us how he wished he could shear sheep!
It is annoying because the plot was intriguing and I wanted to know who and why but it was a real uphill struggle to keep going.
The writing style is fine. Cleeves has a truncated, blunt sort of style. Short sentences that make reading fairly easy and vivid descriptions which paint the setting very clearly.
There was also a thought out and interesting plot hidden within the pages.
Here Endeth the praise.
There was little emotion in this book despite the fact that it should have had a lot of emotion at times. Jimmy was quite flat, he barely seemed human in his interactions. As the main narrative voice I felt that I should have known him better than I did.
I didn't like the romance between Jimmy and Fran. Neither seemed to take it seriously. She went off with a pretty face for lunch despite Jimmy and he fantasised about an actress with Fran sitting a metre away. They didn't seem that in to each other and so I wasn't in to them either.
I disliked Taylor. Were we supposed to like him? He was rude and arrogant, competitive to an obsessive degree. All round I did not like his character.
I have no idea why Kenny was a narrator. His chapters were so dull that by the end I was skipping huge chunks.
The pacing was so bad. So very slow and plodding. There was barely any progression of the history behind the murders so we just kept getting more and more bodies but no more information. The whole police work seemed shoddy and Jimmy guessing the killer at the end was so random. He had no evidence but he just knew things.
So much time was spent setting the scene and telling us about the locations and life in Shetland that the plot was totally forgotten. Literally in the middle of an investigation and Jimmy spent 3 pages telling us how he wished he could shear sheep!
It is annoying because the plot was intriguing and I wanted to know who and why but it was a real uphill struggle to keep going.
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
3.0
When a body is found hanged it's not suicide but murder and when another body is found it makes things even more complicated. In a small village there are not a lot of suspects and Jimmy Perez and Taylor have to search through the evidence and red herrings to find the truth.
Strangely the second book I've read with arctic style summers and winters in a row...
Strangely the second book I've read with arctic style summers and winters in a row...
ritajuanita's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
skynet666's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed this on audio, but I think the first book was better.
bramwell's review
lighthearted
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? No
2.75
Rather boring. Very much a bland ramble with an obvious and underwhelming plot. Too stuffed with tell, lacks show
lostgwennel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sianw1992's review
3.0
It's a good murder mystery to keep you going, but it's not gripping enough, and some of the characters are a bit annoying. Maybe if I'd have read the first of the Shetland Quartet I would have liked it better.
hgatfield's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0