Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a very simple and elegant book. It has a certain charm to it. George isnt a police official or certified PI. Though he used to work for home office, in this story he is the only person who is keen from beginning to find who murdered Mary. Given that Kinness is a very small island, community is small, the killer is closer to home.
My least favorite of the series so far. Probably because this one doesn't have Molly in it at all outside of references to her. I do want to say that I loved that Cleeves lets us all know what happened to some of the major players in this story. I don't recall her doing that much in her other books, but it was interesting to read what came next for some of the inhabitants of Kinness.
"Murder in Paradise" follows George Palmer-Jones who comes to the island of Kinness during a wedding celebration for Jim and his new wife Sarah. That evening there's a great party with dancing and drinking. But Jim's younger sister Mary is found dead the next day. Many think she fell, but George thinks she was pushed. And then another murder takes place and George is dead set on finding the guilty party.
This one for me felt a little slow. I think that having Sarah stand in for Molly wasn't that great of an idea. It did remind me a bit of how sometimes we would have Poirot having younger women help him out on his cases when Hastings was missing. And just like those stories, I often felt something was missing a bit. I think since Sarah had her own reasons for thinking about things I just wish we had stayed with George and had Molly flying out to the island to assist him.
This book also shows George struggling with what he wants to do. He's talking somewhat about being an amateur detective. But once again, you have him not wanting to find out who did what to whom since it would change the island of Kinness for him forever.
The other characters in this book are a lot. Tons of people had their own motives for not wanting any secrets to get out, but all is not revealed until the end.
I thought this was a solid mystery, but definitely felt the flow and lack of Molly hampered my enjoyment of the book.
"Murder in Paradise" follows George Palmer-Jones who comes to the island of Kinness during a wedding celebration for Jim and his new wife Sarah. That evening there's a great party with dancing and drinking. But Jim's younger sister Mary is found dead the next day. Many think she fell, but George thinks she was pushed. And then another murder takes place and George is dead set on finding the guilty party.
This one for me felt a little slow. I think that having Sarah stand in for Molly wasn't that great of an idea. It did remind me a bit of how sometimes we would have Poirot having younger women help him out on his cases when Hastings was missing. And just like those stories, I often felt something was missing a bit. I think since Sarah had her own reasons for thinking about things I just wish we had stayed with George and had Molly flying out to the island to assist him.
This book also shows George struggling with what he wants to do. He's talking somewhat about being an amateur detective. But once again, you have him not wanting to find out who did what to whom since it would change the island of Kinness for him forever.
The other characters in this book are a lot. Tons of people had their own motives for not wanting any secrets to get out, but all is not revealed until the end.
I thought this was a solid mystery, but definitely felt the flow and lack of Molly hampered my enjoyment of the book.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Murder in Paradise by Ann Cleeves
Blurb
The honeymoon was over . . . and Jim and his English bride, Sarah, had come home to Kinness to settle down. But first there was to be one huge celebration for the newlyweds, with the whole island present. And before the party was over, there would be a shockingly unexpected death. Somehow, in the dark of the night, Jim’s young sister, Mary, slipped off Ellie’s Head to the rocks below. A terrible end to a boisterously cheerful evening.
But did Mary fall, or was she pushed? George Palmer-Jones, retired birdwatcher and amateur detective, suspected the latter, but proving it would be difficult: no one wanted to upset the balance of the island’s ancient relationships.
My Opinion
This is the third book in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, and they are relatively quick reads. This is not the best book in the series, but it was still enjoyable - it was lacking the detective skills seen in earlier books. A simple mystery with some great characters.
Rating 3/5
Blurb
The honeymoon was over . . . and Jim and his English bride, Sarah, had come home to Kinness to settle down. But first there was to be one huge celebration for the newlyweds, with the whole island present. And before the party was over, there would be a shockingly unexpected death. Somehow, in the dark of the night, Jim’s young sister, Mary, slipped off Ellie’s Head to the rocks below. A terrible end to a boisterously cheerful evening.
But did Mary fall, or was she pushed? George Palmer-Jones, retired birdwatcher and amateur detective, suspected the latter, but proving it would be difficult: no one wanted to upset the balance of the island’s ancient relationships.
My Opinion
This is the third book in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, and they are relatively quick reads. This is not the best book in the series, but it was still enjoyable - it was lacking the detective skills seen in earlier books. A simple mystery with some great characters.
Rating 3/5
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I strugglrd with this book. I love Ann Cleeve's four other series but this one troubles me. The characters were so strange they were hard to connect to. The lead, George, was also hard to connect to. it's a weird little island. So very old fashioned. I release this book was written in 1989 but the view Geogre took towards woman in a domestic abusive relationship was shocking & the summery addressing "no family had a moral Superiority over the other" after it was revealed felt big yikes. The way Mary's parents reacted after she died. As if nothing happened & she never existed with broken moments of revealing their grief and how Robert's death was handled by the community... it was hard to get my head around. The end where Sarah wanted to make a change was
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Classism
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced