Reviews

I read the first book in the trilogy last. I think the books can somewhat be read out of order, but book 3 gives away the killer of book 1. So I knew who it was from the start. That said, it took me a bit longer to get into the story than the other 2. Also the other 2 books are told from more than 1 POV. This one mainly sticks with Camille.

Even though I knew how this story would play out, there was still a nice twist I didn’t know was coming!

And once the investigation really gets going the story picks up a lot!

Alex is still my favorite of the series.

spinlock's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

inmidnights's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This was an engaging read and I couldn't put it down--despite no action really happening until the latter part of the story. The little glimpses into the character's daily lives and job were just enough to keep you engrossed.

I found that the killer was obvious from the start, but that's a neutral point; it just means the author was able to leave enough clues for the reader. Plus, the twist was great. The twist also made the slight shift in characterization after it believable, no matter how annoying it was as a reader to see them making considerably dumber decisions. But it wouldn't be a western-penned story without dumb decisions from "great" characters, so.

Overall, a good read, made even better by the fact that I picked this up based on the back cover summary during warehouse booksale where they carry rare books / authors that my country doesn't usually import.

Spoiler

These things did bother me, but like I said, if the characters were really as smart/great as they're supposed to be, it wouldn't be a western-penned story:
- That they didn't ferret the mole out after the second article came out...
- They had two experts they could consult about crime novels featuring pregnant woman. The fact that the police didn't immediately consult them, concurrent with the usual search, the moment Irene went missing and they waited 5 hours to ask... l i k e

Content Warnings

dorothy_1900's review against another edition

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4.0

Od lat żaden kryminał tak mną nie wstrząsnął, jak ta powieść. Kawał świetnej literatury niewątpliwie, choć przerażające jest to jak (nawet w przedstawieniu literackim), potrafimy siebie nawzajem torturować.

kenzo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Ive got chills

biteintobooks's review against another edition

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5.0

Pierre Lemaitre.. What are you doing to me?!

Last summer, I read Alex while on vacation. Right after that I bought #2; Irene and #3; Rosy and #4; Camille.

I alredy knew how this book would finish.. And yet.. I feel so shallow, sad, angry.. MAD! I actually threw the book away because of it's ending, ofcourse I picked it up again because I still had to read the final letter to Camille.

I actually don't want to give the book 5 stars and mark it as favorite, I'm so confused!

But when a book gets under your skin, you know it's a good one!

yanagnl81's review against another edition

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4.0

Eigenlijk is het een vreselijk boek. Vreselijk luguber, maar ook vreselijk goed. Ik blijf zeggen dat het jammer is dat ze niet in de goede volgorde vertaald zijn. Wat is hier de reden van?
Voor wie ze nog niet gelezen heeft een geluk. Begin bij dit boek.

Lees mijn recensie op mijn blog via http://leesdan.blogspot.nl/2014/12/irene-pierre-lemaitre.html

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