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fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
A strong debut...
Since Rebecca is an online friend of mine it will be hard for me to avoid being biased. Nonetheless I'll attempt to be as honest as I can...
We first meet DI Hannah Robbins when she is called to attend a crime scene. The body of a teenage girl has been found – naked, bruised and battered. The girl has been sexually abused and then strangled. The pressure is already on Hannah and her team to solve the case quickly, but when a second body is found it becomes a race to find the perpetrator before any more murders are committed...
First off, this is a darker tale than I am generally comfortable with. When telling a story of sexual abuse and torture, particularly of children, it has to be handled with a good deal of sensitivity to avoid becoming unpleasantly gruesome and even voyeuristic. Fortunately Rebecca has avoided this pitfall on the whole – although it is made clear what has happened to the girls, she doesn't dwell too much on the details. The emphasis is much more on Hannah and the investigation, with only small sections devoted to describing the abuse of the victims, and even then Rebecca steers clear of being overly graphic.
Hannah's character is developed well – she is a dedicated and professional officer, and while she likes her red wine a bit too much, she's certainly not a stereotypical drunken maverick. When we meet her, she is in a fairly new relationship with Ethan, a crime journalist with the Nottingham Reporter, and we see her struggling to maintain her professional discretion while needing to have someone she can talk to so she can wind down at the end of the day. Ethan's character is a bit ambiguous – we're never quite sure if he's only involved with Hannah to see if he can get any inside information out of her. The other members of Hannah's team are interesting, and leave plenty of room for further development in future books. I enjoyed that the whole team were shown as professionals – although there is a little bit of departmental politics, it's clear everyone is trying to do their best to achieve the same end. I felt, however, that the overall tone of the characterisation was perhaps a bit bleak – I'd have liked to have seen a bit of humour to break up the darkness occasionally. Sometimes I felt we got too much information about Hannah’s feelings about the crimes - some of the work could have been left up to the reader.
The plotting is strong and well-paced, and builds up to an unexpected and dramatic climax. I didn't work out whodunit (I had my suspicions, but was completely wrong) but when it was revealed and I looked back, I felt Rebecca had given us the clues quite fairly, and had managed effectively to misdirect.
Overall the book is well written, and the second half particularly swept me along. There are a few grammatical errors, and the occasional use of regional colloquialisms in the main body of the text jarred me out of the flow from time to time – both common faults with self-published books. The book is written mainly in the first person from Hannah's viewpoint, but there are occasional sections in the third person – when we switch to the victims, which works well, and occasionally when we go to the viewpoint of another police officer, which in my view didn't work nearly as well, though I could see why it was done that way. Again it had the effect of breaking the flow a bit. Written in the past tense (hurrah!), the book very occasionally slips into the present tense for the briefest of periods in mid-flow, and I couldn't quite see the reason for this. But once I had become fully absorbed in the plot, these small problems were easily overlooked and I found myself well and truly hooked.
A strong debut, and I genuinely look forward to seeing how Hannah – and Rebecca – develop in future books. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Since Rebecca is an online friend of mine it will be hard for me to avoid being biased. Nonetheless I'll attempt to be as honest as I can...
We first meet DI Hannah Robbins when she is called to attend a crime scene. The body of a teenage girl has been found – naked, bruised and battered. The girl has been sexually abused and then strangled. The pressure is already on Hannah and her team to solve the case quickly, but when a second body is found it becomes a race to find the perpetrator before any more murders are committed...
First off, this is a darker tale than I am generally comfortable with. When telling a story of sexual abuse and torture, particularly of children, it has to be handled with a good deal of sensitivity to avoid becoming unpleasantly gruesome and even voyeuristic. Fortunately Rebecca has avoided this pitfall on the whole – although it is made clear what has happened to the girls, she doesn't dwell too much on the details. The emphasis is much more on Hannah and the investigation, with only small sections devoted to describing the abuse of the victims, and even then Rebecca steers clear of being overly graphic.
Hannah's character is developed well – she is a dedicated and professional officer, and while she likes her red wine a bit too much, she's certainly not a stereotypical drunken maverick. When we meet her, she is in a fairly new relationship with Ethan, a crime journalist with the Nottingham Reporter, and we see her struggling to maintain her professional discretion while needing to have someone she can talk to so she can wind down at the end of the day. Ethan's character is a bit ambiguous – we're never quite sure if he's only involved with Hannah to see if he can get any inside information out of her. The other members of Hannah's team are interesting, and leave plenty of room for further development in future books. I enjoyed that the whole team were shown as professionals – although there is a little bit of departmental politics, it's clear everyone is trying to do their best to achieve the same end. I felt, however, that the overall tone of the characterisation was perhaps a bit bleak – I'd have liked to have seen a bit of humour to break up the darkness occasionally. Sometimes I felt we got too much information about Hannah’s feelings about the crimes - some of the work could have been left up to the reader.
The plotting is strong and well-paced, and builds up to an unexpected and dramatic climax. I didn't work out whodunit (I had my suspicions, but was completely wrong) but when it was revealed and I looked back, I felt Rebecca had given us the clues quite fairly, and had managed effectively to misdirect.
Overall the book is well written, and the second half particularly swept me along. There are a few grammatical errors, and the occasional use of regional colloquialisms in the main body of the text jarred me out of the flow from time to time – both common faults with self-published books. The book is written mainly in the first person from Hannah's viewpoint, but there are occasional sections in the third person – when we switch to the victims, which works well, and occasionally when we go to the viewpoint of another police officer, which in my view didn't work nearly as well, though I could see why it was done that way. Again it had the effect of breaking the flow a bit. Written in the past tense (hurrah!), the book very occasionally slips into the present tense for the briefest of periods in mid-flow, and I couldn't quite see the reason for this. But once I had become fully absorbed in the plot, these small problems were easily overlooked and I found myself well and truly hooked.
A strong debut, and I genuinely look forward to seeing how Hannah – and Rebecca – develop in future books. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
stierbri's review against another edition
2.0
This book was okay. There wasn't a lot of character development and many of the players just seemed shallow to me. Even the sex scenes between the main character and her boyfriend left me feeling nothing. The author tells us how people feel instead of showing us.
Then there are the victims themselves. I don't feel anything for them. Everything is described very clinically. There is no emotion in this book at all. Overall I could not recommend this books. It's the start is a series and I don't intend to read the next one!!!
Then there are the victims themselves. I don't feel anything for them. Everything is described very clinically. There is no emotion in this book at all. Overall I could not recommend this books. It's the start is a series and I don't intend to read the next one!!!
emmaelizabethx's review against another edition
1.75
If I have to read another paragraph about DI Hannah making tea or drinking wine I’d actually implode. Don’t even get me started on the DS sally storyline what a load of utter shite. The 1st person narrative is draining and the plot predictable as can be. How Hannah didn’t put together the culprit sooner is beyond me. Worst book I’ve read this year so at least it comes first in something!! The only plus was that it was free on audible!
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
5.0
Shallow Waters is a debut novel that I can recommend to anybody who likes the crime fiction genre. I really liked Hannah the lead police officer and there were times that I felt close to tears when she had to do certain parts of her job. I have been reading crime fiction for years and this is the first time it has ever upset me. She has a past that is barely touched upon, I hope that we get to find out more about her past in the future novels.
I had absolutely no idea who the culprit was and the ending was a heart breaking cliff hanger.
I have read many debut novels this year and I am really looking forward to the follow up in this series.
Thanks to Rebecca for the copy sent.
I had absolutely no idea who the culprit was and the ending was a heart breaking cliff hanger.
I have read many debut novels this year and I am really looking forward to the follow up in this series.
Thanks to Rebecca for the copy sent.
sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
4.0
Shallow Waters is the first book in the DI Hannah Robbins series.
The story mainly focuses on the case that Hannah and her team find themselves working on. We do get brief glimpses of her personal life though through a certain reporter of which a relationship between a reporter and an officer is always going to be asking for trouble. We also get some glimpses into her own family life which left me intrigued to find out more. I like how the author hasn’t revealed everything as yet which ensures you will be coming back for more.
The case they are working on is quite a harrowing one and it is affecting the team in different ways. It always seems more personal when it is someone young that is murdered. You can feel the tension mounting as the team try to get a break in the case in identifying who is behind it.
Sally was a character that stood out to me for various reasons. Her love of her job and her need to get justice for the victims comes first in her life. She is someone who I think readers will have some empathy for and by the end it makes for some emotional reading.
Shallow Waters is a good and solid start into a new series for me. The shortish chapters ensure you keep reading ‘just one more’ and before you know it you are near the end. A gripping and emotive read of which I look forward to reading more in the series.
The story mainly focuses on the case that Hannah and her team find themselves working on. We do get brief glimpses of her personal life though through a certain reporter of which a relationship between a reporter and an officer is always going to be asking for trouble. We also get some glimpses into her own family life which left me intrigued to find out more. I like how the author hasn’t revealed everything as yet which ensures you will be coming back for more.
The case they are working on is quite a harrowing one and it is affecting the team in different ways. It always seems more personal when it is someone young that is murdered. You can feel the tension mounting as the team try to get a break in the case in identifying who is behind it.
Sally was a character that stood out to me for various reasons. Her love of her job and her need to get justice for the victims comes first in her life. She is someone who I think readers will have some empathy for and by the end it makes for some emotional reading.
Shallow Waters is a good and solid start into a new series for me. The shortish chapters ensure you keep reading ‘just one more’ and before you know it you are near the end. A gripping and emotive read of which I look forward to reading more in the series.
casimiera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
vesper1931's review against another edition
2.0
The body of a naked young girl is found - dumped. It falls to DI Hannah Robbins and her team to investigate. The case becomes more urgent when another body is found.
Unfortunately I didn't feel pulled in by the writing style or story. Apart from the hard drinking unlikeable Robbins none of the team seem memorable.
Unfortunately I didn't feel pulled in by the writing style or story. Apart from the hard drinking unlikeable Robbins none of the team seem memorable.