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mindycat84's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
laura_jager's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
Gruesome doings in the little Northern Ireland town of Ballyterrin. While the troubles are essentially over, other troubles tied to culture and religion are not. Police psychologist finds herself at the center of the criminal doings. McGowan is a strong writer, and the characters have a depth that convinces us that they are as clever as they are ordinarily human.
fiona_claffey_kelly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kelbi's review against another edition
4.0
Good. a tad melodramatic at times but still gripping and great characterisation. Now I have to read the next one!
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Imagine being in the middle of a complex criminal investigation. A stranger comes up to you, hands you a bunch of letters and runs off. Instead of taking ten minutes of your day (which you spend faffing about who could possibly be the father of your unborn child - tip: probably the one you had unprotected sex with) reading the letters, you stuff them in your pocket, don't tell your boss and eventually pass them on to your father asking him to look at them because, I don't know, you've suddenly lost your reading skills. This is only one of many inexplicable decisions Paula makes, and the greatest mystery in the book is why she is so highly respected in her profession seeing as she is shit at her job. Anyway, as long as you can suspend disbelief it's a page-turner for sure.
susysstories's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
It's been quite a while that I read the first instalment and I seem to remember that I liked that one, better than this one. Especially Paula had me roll my eyes quite frequently. Decent enough plot, though perhaps a bit farfetched.
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 6
Plot/Premise 6
Execution/Setup 5
Logic 5
Enjoyment/Engrossment 6
Narration 6
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 6
Plot/Premise 6
Execution/Setup 5
Logic 5
Enjoyment/Engrossment 6
Narration 6
stefaniefrei's review against another edition
5.0
Motherhood
Die deutsche Ausgabe heißt "Bittet nicht um Gnade"
2010, Ballyterrin (a fictive town on the Northern Ireland border)
A newborn has disappeared from the hospital - was this a woman desperate to have a child of her own or is this rather an attack against the little boy's Polish parents? Forensic psychiatrist Paula Maguire, consultant for the MPRU (Missing Persons Response Unit), is working on that case while at the same time she has to make up her own mind about whether to have a baby or not, given the situation she is in. When she goes to see gynecologist Dr. Bates, the doc never shows up for the appointment, but soon is reported missing, too. Then a faith healer gives the police clues about where to find the missing baby boy - shortly before yet another baby is reported missing and the dead body of a woman is found.
This second book in the Paula Maguire series could be read standalone as far as the case and the characters are concerned - the case is fresh, the characters' backgrounds are explained so cleverly, in small portions, it was not boring to me even knowing the first book. You still should expect some spoilers, as the series uses something I liked in TV with stories such as "The Mentalist" or "Castle": you have a new case in each book, and an underlying one at the background of the series, here related to Paula's family (like the Mentalist looking for Red John, who had killed his wife and daughter; or Kate Beckett trying to figure out who killed her mother). The same is true about developments about Paula's present - so there is tad more in this book about Paula's private life, as she is trying to make up her mind about her pregnancy. I have read that others found that too much - I did not. I rather find those mysteries/thrillers boring with too much of a love story, but that is just my personal taste.
Frankly spoken, this book may not be something for the reader who has an issue about women unsure whether to have a baby or not - as much as I favor the use of anti-contraception over abortion, I favor abortion over skelotons found in freezers or babies dumped or simply unwanted (and yes, this is very black or white). And yes, Paula had sex without having gotten married first and there are two men who might have fathered her baby.
The book has kept up the speed, the unexpected twists and dry humour I had come to love with its predecessor, like when Paula gives a cover-up story for her constant pregnancy induced throwing up to her colleagues: "Must have been a twenty-four-hour-thing." Twenty-four years, more like. p 37
It was a positive surprise that the topical case is very much different from the first: Disappearences but different ages, something related to giving birth (probably - just find out yourself), and the missing showing up in a setup somehow related to religious scenes. Again, there is a lot of local life woven in, expressions like "God love them", wee, aye, pet make the reader feel like being there. And yet another hit close to home for Paula in what I had in the previous book's review referred to as the "golden thread" within the series, that Paula tries to come to some understanding about the disappearence of her own mother throughout all books.
5 stars, also to praise the author that I could have guessed it all if only I had read more attentively in two places...
Die deutsche Ausgabe heißt "Bittet nicht um Gnade"
2010, Ballyterrin (a fictive town on the Northern Ireland border)
A newborn has disappeared from the hospital - was this a woman desperate to have a child of her own or is this rather an attack against the little boy's Polish parents? Forensic psychiatrist Paula Maguire, consultant for the MPRU (Missing Persons Response Unit), is working on that case while at the same time she has to make up her own mind about whether to have a baby or not, given the situation she is in. When she goes to see gynecologist Dr. Bates, the doc never shows up for the appointment, but soon is reported missing, too. Then a faith healer gives the police clues about where to find the missing baby boy - shortly before yet another baby is reported missing and the dead body of a woman is found.
This second book in the Paula Maguire series could be read standalone as far as the case and the characters are concerned - the case is fresh, the characters' backgrounds are explained so cleverly, in small portions, it was not boring to me even knowing the first book. You still should expect some spoilers, as the series uses something I liked in TV with stories such as "The Mentalist" or "Castle": you have a new case in each book, and an underlying one at the background of the series, here related to Paula's family (like the Mentalist looking for Red John, who had killed his wife and daughter; or Kate Beckett trying to figure out who killed her mother). The same is true about developments about Paula's present - so there is tad more in this book about Paula's private life, as she is trying to make up her mind about her pregnancy. I have read that others found that too much - I did not. I rather find those mysteries/thrillers boring with too much of a love story, but that is just my personal taste.
Frankly spoken, this book may not be something for the reader who has an issue about women unsure whether to have a baby or not - as much as I favor the use of anti-contraception over abortion, I favor abortion over skelotons found in freezers or babies dumped or simply unwanted (and yes, this is very black or white). And yes, Paula had sex without having gotten married first and there are two men who might have fathered her baby.
The book has kept up the speed, the unexpected twists and dry humour I had come to love with its predecessor, like when Paula gives a cover-up story for her constant pregnancy induced throwing up to her colleagues: "Must have been a twenty-four-hour-thing." Twenty-four years, more like. p 37
It was a positive surprise that the topical case is very much different from the first: Disappearences but different ages, something related to giving birth (probably - just find out yourself), and the missing showing up in a setup somehow related to religious scenes. Again, there is a lot of local life woven in, expressions like "God love them", wee, aye, pet make the reader feel like being there. And yet another hit close to home for Paula in what I had in the previous book's review referred to as the "golden thread" within the series, that Paula tries to come to some understanding about the disappearence of her own mother throughout all books.
5 stars, also to praise the author that I could have guessed it all if only I had read more attentively in two places...