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rainynook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.5
I listened to the audiobook of this collection of stories by Dame Daphne du Maurier. I had long ago seen the film of "Don't Look Now" and I adore the book, "Rebecca" so I was eager to read more work by this writer. This review contains slight spoilers, but I've tried to be careful not to reveal too much.
The book is a series of 5 short stories.
The first story, "Don't Look Now" (4.5 stars) is really good, my favorite of the whole collection. I love Venice and stories about Venice, so this one, with DdM's characteristic slow build of tension, until you are right there with the protagonist, struggling & trapped & more than a little worried, not unlike a spider's prey in a web. When she's good at this trick, she's very, very good. Loved the reader for this one, Michael Sinclair.
"Not After Midnight" was initially compelling, but it got pretty weird, and I didn't buy the ending.
"A Border-Line Case". Normally, I'm delighted with the audiobook work of Katherine Kellgren, but for this (and for the subsequent story, "The Way of the Cross") her voice did not work as it had too much of the comedic edge which she puts to good use in other works. The story had some good elements, and the ending was good, but I saw it coming.
"The Way of the Cross" was not my cup of tea. I couldn't wait for it to end.
The final story in the compilation, "The Breakthrough" was good, but nothing special. However, of the 5 stories, this one, and "Don't Look Now" were the only ones I thought worth listening to, although "Don't Look Now" is far and away the best of the lot.
The book is a series of 5 short stories.
The first story, "Don't Look Now" (4.5 stars) is really good, my favorite of the whole collection. I love Venice and stories about Venice, so this one, with DdM's characteristic slow build of tension, until you are right there with the protagonist, struggling & trapped & more than a little worried, not unlike a spider's prey in a web. When she's good at this trick, she's very, very good. Loved the reader for this one, Michael Sinclair.
"Not After Midnight" was initially compelling, but it got pretty weird, and I didn't buy the ending.
"A Border-Line Case". Normally, I'm delighted with the audiobook work of Katherine Kellgren, but for this (and for the subsequent story, "The Way of the Cross") her voice did not work as it had too much of the comedic edge which she puts to good use in other works. The story had some good elements, and the ending was good, but I saw it coming.
"The Way of the Cross" was not my cup of tea. I couldn't wait for it to end.
The final story in the compilation, "The Breakthrough" was good, but nothing special. However, of the 5 stories, this one, and "Don't Look Now" were the only ones I thought worth listening to, although "Don't Look Now" is far and away the best of the lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, and Murder
chrisljm's review against another edition
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? Yes
2.0
I don’t typically enjoy short stories, so I went into this collection mostly just expecting/wanting some gothic horror elements for the Halloween season.
While I didn’t love the first three stories (“Don’t Look Now”, “Not After Midnight”, and “A Border-Like Case”), they were at the least intriguing. However, I find myself giving this two-stars due to how little I enjoyed the last two stories. I could not care less when reading “The Way of the Cross”, which just felt like nonsense and seemed out of place compared to the first three. “The Breakthrough” was better than “The Way of the Cross” but still lackluster and disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Rape and Sexual content