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katel1970's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
bunnieslikediamonds's review
3.0
nocto's review
I've always liked the setting of New York's Chinatown and setting a book in Hong Kong means that the author can expand the descriptions and make everything so much bigger. The descriptive parts are very well woven into the narrative, it's not like you get pages of scenery in between the action scenes. You really get drawn into the skyscrapers, the alley ways, the apartment blocks, the harbours, the markets and the temples. Hong Kong is a place I'd love to visit.
I'm still thinking about the plot. It all makes sense to me except for quite why Lydia and Bill ended up in Hong Kong to start with. I haven't quite got why their services were chosen sussed yet. One of the things I like about Rozan is that she doesn't go in for the big good versus evil battle. Most of her baddies are acting in the interests of the good. Her characters are mainly trying to help out their families, keep bad news from their friends, that kind of thing, when they get drawn in by currents too strong to escape. The multilayered plots all stand up to analysis and aren't merely puzzles arranged about a central focus of evil.
I really enjoyed the ending of this book. The will they/won't they relationship between Lydia and Bill could become wearing after so many episodes but Rozan is subtly developing her main characters without ruining the series. I'm looking forward to the next book, Winter and Night.
notevenastar's review
4.0
Overall, Rozan is super good at writing subtlety in her characters' arcs and I think that's why her books as a whole are amazing. Like both the individual plots and the overarching relationships require patience and thoughtfulness. It's too late at night for me to write a comprehensive review but pretty much "book good, ending satisfying on several levels".
(Poor Bill, as usual. Just can't catch a break of any kind.)
trusselltales's review
4.0
bob_muller's review
5.0
lauraellis's review against another edition
4.0
This one is particularly good -- Lydia and Bill go to Hong-Kong to perform a simple seeming errand, but of course nothing is simple. It made me want to go to Hong Kong -- and eat the food!
When I finished this book (which I have read at least twice before), I had that wash of contentment that comes from a really good read.
clambook's review against another edition
3.0
laura_sorensen's review against another edition
4.0