Reviews

This fourth installment of the series, I found it overall enjoyable. I was relieved that Nelson played a smaller role in the story, despite the unfortunate circumstances. The storyline was engaging, although at times, it seemed to deviate further from reality. It was hard for me to believe that Ruth felt so uncomfortable in a human remains store. Despite the poor treatment of the remains in the example, such stores do exist in universities and museums, yes they are labelled, recorded and respected but they do exist and it seemed inconsistent with her character, considering her experiences in uncovering atrocities during the Bosnian War. She absolutely would not have felt uncomfortable at all and if she did, she's in the wrong job.

There were moments in the story where it was evident that the author was aiming for a certain effect, but the portrayal of certain aspects, such as the quick identification of a human skeleton, seemed unrealistic. Identifying human remains is usually much more challenging and time-consuming than depicted in the books.

Nevertheless, one of the aspects I appreciated in this installment was the exploration of issues related to repatriation and the theft of important artifacts, including human remains, by countries like the UK from various parts of the world. This raised an important and emotive topic that added depth to the narrative.

As the series progresses, Ruth's character appears to become weaker, and despite my initial fondness for her, she started to become more irritating to me. I hope she doesn't end up hurting Max, that's all I can say.

Similar to the previous books, my favorite character remains Cathbad. I truly wish that a future book would feature him as the main point of view. He's such a compelling character, and I have a soft spot for him.

lintsutin's review against another edition

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mysterious tense 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

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