stefaniefrei's review against another edition
4.0
A Hunger Strike
July 2013, Ballyterrin, Northern Ireland, on the border. Just while forensic psychologist Paula Maguire faces her upcoming wedding with increasing concern, a new case demands the attention the PSNI. 22-year-old Alice is missing, the daughter of influential Home Office executive Lord Morgan. What is weird is that nobody seems to take her absence serious, not even really her own parents or her best friends. The student had left her university to spend time near a church, obsessed with an important relic which has also disappeared, and lots of blood near the altar. It comes as too much of a strange coincidence that another young woman, Yvonne O'Neill, went missing at the very same place in 1981, on the very same day, right at the height of the hunger strikes at the end of "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland. Did her anorexia make Alice go over the edge or did she become victim of a crime? And what is this strange behavior from everyone, from her mom over her friends to her head mistress? More frightening even are those chapters from Alice's point of view.
Number 4 in the series of six books was actually the first that did not immediately get to me, but once I was further in, looking back at how bold and how cleverly the author created the more edgy parts of the book kept me mesmerised. Those creepy chapters are with Alice as first-person narrator, how she is being watched and hates it, how she does not want to be there. I mentioned before that I never like those "from the victim's point of view" - things, but fortunately, those inserts are short. It really hit me hard when I began to understand. These portions were those that in the end I found most shocking, but that's a different story.
This book is the one with probably the biggest portion about Paula's private life, the wedding, her worries about Aidan,...for good measure, Claire McGowan tosses in an undercover operation, lots of psychological interviewing skill and a ghost from the past, released from prison. So the whole context is probably a bit less of a thriller, more a whodunnit. The twist caught me completely off-balance - else, I probably liked this book least in the series. I disliked Paula's new boss, I was not completely convinced about the marriage, the tap-dance around Guy put me off, and the whole private undercurrents where thick, but not tangible. So, for the link towards what is due to come in the last two books, this latter is indespensable - still that one with 4 stars "only".
July 2013, Ballyterrin, Northern Ireland, on the border. Just while forensic psychologist Paula Maguire faces her upcoming wedding with increasing concern, a new case demands the attention the PSNI. 22-year-old Alice is missing, the daughter of influential Home Office executive Lord Morgan. What is weird is that nobody seems to take her absence serious, not even really her own parents or her best friends. The student had left her university to spend time near a church, obsessed with an important relic which has also disappeared, and lots of blood near the altar. It comes as too much of a strange coincidence that another young woman, Yvonne O'Neill, went missing at the very same place in 1981, on the very same day, right at the height of the hunger strikes at the end of "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland. Did her anorexia make Alice go over the edge or did she become victim of a crime? And what is this strange behavior from everyone, from her mom over her friends to her head mistress? More frightening even are those chapters from Alice's point of view.
Number 4 in the series of six books was actually the first that did not immediately get to me, but once I was further in, looking back at how bold and how cleverly the author created the more edgy parts of the book kept me mesmerised. Those creepy chapters are with Alice as first-person narrator, how she is being watched and hates it, how she does not want to be there. I mentioned before that I never like those "from the victim's point of view" - things, but fortunately, those inserts are short. It really hit me hard when I began to understand. These portions were those that in the end I found most shocking, but that's a different story.
This book is the one with probably the biggest portion about Paula's private life, the wedding, her worries about Aidan,...for good measure, Claire McGowan tosses in an undercover operation, lots of psychological interviewing skill and a ghost from the past, released from prison. So the whole context is probably a bit less of a thriller, more a whodunnit. The twist caught me completely off-balance - else, I probably liked this book least in the series. I disliked Paula's new boss, I was not completely convinced about the marriage, the tap-dance around Guy put me off, and the whole private undercurrents where thick, but not tangible. So, for the link towards what is due to come in the last two books, this latter is indespensable - still that one with 4 stars "only".
bgg616's review
4.0
I am hooked on following Paula McGuire, the forensic psychologist who returns home to Northern Ireland from England to work on a short-term assignment. She has now been there through four novels, but readers don't really know if she'll stay or if she'll go (to paraphrase The Clash). McGowan has created an interesting and compelling character that keeps me coming back to these books.
The author ends each books with a cliff-hanger, as well as leaving readers wondering what will happen next in Paula's personal life. For that reason, I recommend reading these books in order. That is also the reason I cannot say much about the details of each novel. Paula is one of too many residents of Northern Ireland who had a family member disappear during the Troubles. This novel continues to explore the mystery of her long absent mother. As I am wont to do, I am fussy about details when I read. In this novel, it was toddlers who spoke in full grammatical sentences like five-year-olds (one of my academic specializations is child language). I also found the story line in this novel too convoluted and in the end I stopped caring. I enjoyed the narration as the narrator deftly changed accents and managed to convey male voices without sounding ridiculous. This was 3.5 stars for me but I am bumping it up as McGowan is currently the only Northern Irish woman writing a crime novel series.
The author ends each books with a cliff-hanger, as well as leaving readers wondering what will happen next in Paula's personal life. For that reason, I recommend reading these books in order. That is also the reason I cannot say much about the details of each novel. Paula is one of too many residents of Northern Ireland who had a family member disappear during the Troubles. This novel continues to explore the mystery of her long absent mother. As I am wont to do, I am fussy about details when I read. In this novel, it was toddlers who spoke in full grammatical sentences like five-year-olds (one of my academic specializations is child language). I also found the story line in this novel too convoluted and in the end I stopped caring. I enjoyed the narration as the narrator deftly changed accents and managed to convey male voices without sounding ridiculous. This was 3.5 stars for me but I am bumping it up as McGowan is currently the only Northern Irish woman writing a crime novel series.
ingera's review against another edition
3.0
I like this series, but the paternity issue really annoys me at this point. I also think that even if Paula is supposed to be a forensic psychologist there is not much psychological insight, she operates mostly like a regular detective would.
kizzia's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trusselltales's review
4.0
Another solid, vividly atmospheric book from McGowan. Dr Paula Maguire, expert in missing persons working with the PSNI, mother of a lively toddler and about to get married, gets caught up in the case of Alice, a young student with a history of anorexia who has disappeared in suspicious circumstances. As has become a theme throughout the Maguire series the contemporary story, in keeping with life in Northern Ireland, is melded with incidents and events from the times of The Troubles - in this book it's the early 80s and the IRA hunger strikers who form a backdrop to the story. Very engrossing read: I love to follow the path of recurring characters' lives through a series, so engaged with Paula's inclination to wave away her forthcoming wedding plans in favour of work; but the missing student case kept me reading. And I'm no' saying much in fear of spoilers, but roll on book 5!
4erepawko's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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