Scan barcode
paradise_library's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting take on a ‘locked room’ mystery, Blue Water lures readers onto a voyage with a missing treaty and a murderer.
Although nicely written and initially engaging, the book failed to keep my interest. It was very slow and the setting did not allow for much excitement. The prose was in keeping with the style I would expect for the time, but this made it quite wordy and dull, although the variety of diary entries, letters and the Captain’s log did help to break it up.
The characters on the other hand were excellent, with a great variety of classes, backgrounds and secrets and I very much enjoyed the inclusion of French aristocracy escaping the guillotine. Naturally the dancing bear was a highlight and once he arrived, the book improved vastly.
I was quite surprised that the sailors didn’t make more fuss about women on board, but without them, the plot would not have been nearly so interesting and overall the historical research was sound and very visual. There were a few red herrings, which Nattrass focused on a bit too much, meaning the ultimate reveal felt a bit underwhelming.
A good book overall, but not quite the swashbuckling adventure I was hoping for.
Although nicely written and initially engaging, the book failed to keep my interest. It was very slow and the setting did not allow for much excitement. The prose was in keeping with the style I would expect for the time, but this made it quite wordy and dull, although the variety of diary entries, letters and the Captain’s log did help to break it up.
The characters on the other hand were excellent, with a great variety of classes, backgrounds and secrets and I very much enjoyed the inclusion of French aristocracy escaping the guillotine. Naturally the dancing bear was a highlight and once he arrived, the book improved vastly.
I was quite surprised that the sailors didn’t make more fuss about women on board, but without them, the plot would not have been nearly so interesting and overall the historical research was sound and very visual. There were a few red herrings, which Nattrass focused on a bit too much, meaning the ultimate reveal felt a bit underwhelming.
A good book overall, but not quite the swashbuckling adventure I was hoping for.
rainonawindow's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I found the characters to be rather bland and uninspiring and the writing style rather unenthusiastic. The plotline itself was engaging enough but with such focus on the flat feeling characters I found this book hard work to finish.
violentlyagitated's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jessie82's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
alexthepink's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
read_me_up_scotty's review
Might revisit in the future, but for a murder mystery there wasn’t much sleuthing going on. I just couldn’t be bothered in the end and didn’t really care about the characters.
particularnorth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
indoorswoman's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0