malongorose's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
Tom French, one of the best birders along the Norfolk coast is found dead in a marsh outside of the village of Rushy. Apparently, he had been out early that morning because his binoculars were still hanging around his neck. Tom was one of those people that everyone seemed to like--well, obviously, with one exception. George Palmer-Jones, a retired government employee, is asked to look into the matter and uncovers multiple motives of love gone wrong, envy, and jealousy. With the help of his wife, Molly, George figures out what happened and then had to determine how to keep the murderer from striking again. The best part of the book was the information about the life of bird-watchers in England.
alcyon_alcyon's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure: I am a birder and I like methodical and detailed British mysteries. This mystery was full of great details and characters, landscape, and bird nut stuff -- with no gore, little suspense. Loved it.
norahs_reading_room's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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
thedandybrambler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
natcat's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A solid, compelling mystery, well-constructed, and it kept me guessing to the end! I am a birdwatcher and it really felt like it was written by someone who was genuinely familiar with the birding and twitching scene at the time, which I found very enjoyable.
allmystuffshere's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nocto's review against another edition
1.0
Ooh, an early Ann Cleeves book, that might be interesting.... I'm just writing this note to myself to remind myself next time I think that again! This just bored me, I couldn't make sense of the characters, why George was called on to investigate the death, what the issue was. There were some good characters but I found the whole thing jumbled up and the bird watching scene which I'd expected to find interesting didn't really come to life for me at all. Sorry! I don't usually review DNFs but I wanted to leave myself a note to remember that I didn't enjoy this.
shebalis's review against another edition
3.0
It grew on me about page 50, which is good because that's about when I usually give up lol.