Reviews

The Flood by G.N. Smith

marcirenee1974's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I now have another series to add to my automatically read list!! I love Fiona, she is a super smart, resilient kick-ass copper! She kicks ass, literally, and takes names in this book with the help of aunty and a couple of neighbors! This was my 1st book by G.N. Smith but is not my last, as I am adding all of their books to my TBR!

#TheFlood
#NetGalley 

rositareadslibros's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

The Flood (A Fiona MacLeish Crime Thriller Book 1)
A totally unputdownable crime novel by G.N. Smith
Narrated by Helen McAlpine
Listening Time 9hrs 34minutes
Publisher Bookouture
Publication Date September 22, 2023
 
First I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher Bookouture for giving me the opportunity of listening an advance copy of this audio book. This is my first book by author G.N. Smith. This book is 1 of 3 in the Fiona MacLeish series. The protagonist Fiona is a Scottish Cop who was force to take some time off back home with her Aunt Mary after the dead of her co-worker. During her time off at her aunt house a storm cause a flood that traps all the residents of the valley and a series of murders occur.
 
This a slow burn crime fiction pack with suspense, I couldn't stop myself from listening.  
The narration work on this audiobook was great, love the Scottish accent of the narrator.
 
I am looking forward to read the remaining books on this series.

moonbell's review against another edition

adventurous informative 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

2.25

jen08108's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

3.5 ⭐️

The Flood starts out with Scottish police officer, Fiona MacLeish, finding the body of her aunt’s neighbor. It’s the beginning of a devastating storm and she needs to get herself and her aunt to a safer place. This is not an easy task because there is a very dangerous flood covering the entire area. They end up sheltering at a neighbor’s house, along several other town residents. Though they don’t trust each other in the least, they must work together to not only survive the storm, but to figure out who the murderer is. 

This book is a very slow burn and a lot of it seemed drawn out & repetitive. The majority of the characters were unlikeable. However, I enjoyed it regardless. I really liked Fiona and can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book. Aunt Mary was also a great  character as well. I hope she at least makes some appearances in future books. 

I was lucky enough to listen to the great narration in the audiobook. The Scottish accent added so much to the ambience of the story. I would definitely recommend it over reading the book just for that.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with and advanced copy of this audiobook. 

devireads's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

THANK YOU Netgalley and Bookouture for this opportunity to ARC review this book! 

Fiona is a police detective taking a break from work by staying in her childhood home with her aunt. This small village/farm is getting flooded and they all seek safety in one of the neighbours house that’s at a safe high level. This is when Fiona finds out along the way another neighbour is murdered. So now In that safe house, who did it??? 

 

For a plot like this, I didn’t really feel much tension. And also, this book was too descriptive that it was both amusing and boring sometimes. Like I understood more about the flood measures but really, every thing they did was there in the book. Also this book was slightly too repetitive. 

 

However, I loved the dynamics of these characters 

And how it was a one-night locked house setting. Written in just one POV, I had fun reading the journey of these characters in the flood and uncovering the mystery behind the murder.

whatkenzreads's review

2.0

 UGH. This had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat.

What I liked: the "who done it" storyline that takes place during a terrible storm in Scotland.

What I didn't like: the story telling itself - it was sooo repetitive, I wanted to rip my hair out. There was also a lot of "telling" and not "showing". Idk, it just really didn't work for me.

Narrator was great though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ALC of this book - all opinions are my own. 

herthrillingreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really wanted to love this book. From the synopsis it had all the elements that I typically love: small Scottish community setting, a strong female main character, and a locked door murder mystery. Unfortunately, this story just did not come together for me. The pacing was too slow and some of the story felt repetitive. This would have been a DNF for me if it was the book. However, the bright spot was the narration! I loved the narrator and would listen to anything that she narrates. Her Scottish accent was perfect for the setting and she did a great job of giving the individual characters their own voice without being cheesy.