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ant_i_dot's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
reddyrat's review
4.0
I don't usually read screen-to-book adaptations. At least not since devouring the book adaptation of My Girl fifty times when I was about 11 and had a crush on Macaulay Culkin. I loved the British television series Broadchurch - now remade in the US as Gracepoint. I came to it because I will watch anything with David Tennant in it, but I stayed for the riveting story. Despite knowing who-dunnit, I have gone back and watched the series twice and will probably do it again. It is layered and beautiful and the acting is superb.
I came to this book adaptation with understandable skepticism. Could it capture the intangible "it" factor of the television show? To my surprise, it did. In fact, it made me love the television series even more. I rewatched the show as I was reading the book, because I just had to "see" while I read.
First question: Can you read this without watching the show? I'd say no. Having the visual and auditory memories of the show in my head as I read it clarified a lot of the emotions of the prose, which felt a little flat on its own. On the other hand, I've read numerous reviews of people who read the book without watching the show and loved it.
The best part of this book is that it added things to the TV show. Not major scenes, although there are a few that weren't in the TV show. It allowed me to understand the characters' thoughts better. Most notably, a few of the killer's motivations that weren't spelled out in the show. The book follows the show very closely, but a few things are said at different times or happen in different order. It's not so much that the book has more time to explore things - in fact, I thought the book was a little rushed as opposed to the show. More of the differences in how things work on screen versus the page.
If you loved Broadchurch, you must read the novelized version. The book makes the show so much better and the show makes the book so much better. On its own, I'd say it's an okay book, but with the show, it becomes something special.
I came to this book adaptation with understandable skepticism. Could it capture the intangible "it" factor of the television show? To my surprise, it did. In fact, it made me love the television series even more. I rewatched the show as I was reading the book, because I just had to "see" while I read.
First question: Can you read this without watching the show? I'd say no. Having the visual and auditory memories of the show in my head as I read it clarified a lot of the emotions of the prose, which felt a little flat on its own. On the other hand, I've read numerous reviews of people who read the book without watching the show and loved it.
The best part of this book is that it added things to the TV show. Not major scenes, although there are a few that weren't in the TV show. It allowed me to understand the characters' thoughts better. Most notably, a few of the killer's motivations that weren't spelled out in the show. The book follows the show very closely, but a few things are said at different times or happen in different order. It's not so much that the book has more time to explore things - in fact, I thought the book was a little rushed as opposed to the show. More of the differences in how things work on screen versus the page.
If you loved Broadchurch, you must read the novelized version. The book makes the show so much better and the show makes the book so much better. On its own, I'd say it's an okay book, but with the show, it becomes something special.
priorglass's review against another edition
5.0
i love the additional information and scenes that were never shown in the tv series plus the map of broadchurch is lovely.
krobart's review
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/day-821-broadchurch/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/day-821-broadchurch/
izziebianchi's review
just for fun bc i <3 alec hardy…no rating bc this was a guilty pleasure read
antoniawg's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marilynw's review
4.0
My husband and I watched the series Broadchurch and had to use closed caption because we could barely understand a word anyone was saying, especially the character that David Tennant played. I'm a Texan and don't seem to handle Irish accents well or very fast speaking speed. (Correction: David Tennant is Scottish, another accent I need to work on. Thanks for the correction Alison). Even with the closed caption, I felt like I missed a lot of what the characters were saying, because the closed caption apparently didn't understand some of the dialogue either. :-)
For this reason I borrowed the book from the library. It served the purpose of allowing me to know what was being said in the TV program and allowing me to catch things I had missed by watching the show. The book basically was the same as the program and I can't really say how I would have felt about it if I hadn't already seen the program but I wonder if I would have liked it less. I could picture the people and the places because I'd seen them on TV and I'm not sure there was enough description to allow me to picture everything adequately without having seen the series. I may look into more Erin Kelly books that aren't based on a TV series, to see how I like her writing style, just based on the book.
Published September 16th 2014 by Minotaur Books
For this reason I borrowed the book from the library. It served the purpose of allowing me to know what was being said in the TV program and allowing me to catch things I had missed by watching the show. The book basically was the same as the program and I can't really say how I would have felt about it if I hadn't already seen the program but I wonder if I would have liked it less. I could picture the people and the places because I'd seen them on TV and I'm not sure there was enough description to allow me to picture everything adequately without having seen the series. I may look into more Erin Kelly books that aren't based on a TV series, to see how I like her writing style, just based on the book.
Published September 16th 2014 by Minotaur Books
amysbrittain's review
4.0
3.5 for me. I thought the whodunit reveal was disappointing, and the police seemed to leave some key elements oddly unexamined, but the story, setting, and characters made for a quick, entertaining read.
Kirkus Reviews: Against all odds, Kelly's novelization of the eponymous British TV series, now being remade for U.S. television as Gracepoint, works as both a classic puzzle and an unnerving portrait of a little English town wracked by a young boy's murder.
Kirkus Reviews: Against all odds, Kelly's novelization of the eponymous British TV series, now being remade for U.S. television as Gracepoint, works as both a classic puzzle and an unnerving portrait of a little English town wracked by a young boy's murder.
thatsnotoli's review
3.0
W lutym oglądałam serial, w marcu przeczytałam książkę. Dlaczego w tej kolejności? A dlatego, że w tej kolejności powstały te dwa obrazy przedstawiające tę samą historię. Napisana przez Erin Kelly książka opisuje wszystko, co wydarzyło się w pierwszym sezonie serialu i, mówiąc krótko, jest rozbudowaną wersją scenariusza. Dialogi są identyczne, a sama powieść idealnie zgrywa się z produkcją Chibnalla. Dla mnie lektura była przyjemnym uzupełnieniem serialu, nie wiem czy porwałaby osobę, która serialu nie zna, ciężko mi to określić. I jeżeli kogoś interesuje ta pozycja, to zdecydowanie bardziej polecam jednak serial, i to wcale nie dlatego, że w Hardy'ego wciela się David Tennant (i jego szkocki akcent). Nie, to zdecydowanie nie jest jeden z powodów, dla których powinniście go obejrzeć ;)
constantreader471's review
4.0
I received this ebook free from NetGalley.com. I requested it because a friend had recommended the tv show Broadchurch. The tv series is not currently showing on any US channel. The book blurb says it is based on the tv show--not the reverse.
I enjoyed reading this police procedural, which starts with the murder of a young boy, in a small town in England. The police investigation and newspaper reporters uncover people's secrets--illicit love affairs, criminal past and more. These people then become suspects and lives are damaged. I don't want to post any spoilers, but I can say that the police do find the killer.
I thought that characters were believable, with flaws, just like most humans. The plot moved along well, becoming hard to put down about halfway through.
I enjoyed reading this police procedural, which starts with the murder of a young boy, in a small town in England. The police investigation and newspaper reporters uncover people's secrets--illicit love affairs, criminal past and more. These people then become suspects and lives are damaged. I don't want to post any spoilers, but I can say that the police do find the killer.
I thought that characters were believable, with flaws, just like most humans. The plot moved along well, becoming hard to put down about halfway through.