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francesturpin's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment
kimberlyp's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
ken_bookhermit's review
4.0
i’ve had this book from the library upwards of two months now and it only took a burst of reading energy for me to get around to it. but MAN i’m glad i didn’t give up on it when i had reader’s block. goes to show that some books benefit from a wait.
for some reason the way i imagine max hailey is that he looks like a bald ben lerner even though hailey was never described as having glasses. i don’t know. EDIT: I WAS THINKING, IN FACT, OF CHRISTIAN WIMAN!!!!
one of my favourite parts of this book was the way Los Angeles was described. reminiscent of raymond chandler except in a more modern sense that still held the quality of timelessness. the descriptions too, not just of windhall, are vivid and exquisite in colour. beautiful. i took notes. and seeing as sunset boulevard is one of my favourite films, the comments about hollywood, silent film stars, and swimming pools made me smile.
and another thing i appreciate is the parallel of the film the last train of avalon where the eleanor hayes’ character plays a journalist while max hailey himself is one.
if i were to nitpick something, it’s hailey’s personality and how he treats petra and madeleine. i don’t know what i was looking for, exactly, but his interactions with them gave off an opportunistic tinge. which i get for a crime thriller novel, but still. i do appreciate hailey getting nowhere without their help though.
and that ending was a well-deserved sigh after all the punctuations of emotion i had to undergo.
for some reason the way i imagine max hailey is that he looks like a bald ben lerner even though hailey was never described as having glasses. i don’t know. EDIT: I WAS THINKING, IN FACT, OF CHRISTIAN WIMAN!!!!
one of my favourite parts of this book was the way Los Angeles was described. reminiscent of raymond chandler except in a more modern sense that still held the quality of timelessness. the descriptions too, not just of windhall, are vivid and exquisite in colour. beautiful. i took notes. and seeing as sunset boulevard is one of my favourite films, the comments about hollywood, silent film stars, and swimming pools made me smile.
and another thing i appreciate is the parallel of the film the last train of avalon where the eleanor hayes’ character plays a journalist while max hailey himself is one.
if i were to nitpick something, it’s hailey’s personality and how he treats petra and madeleine. i don’t know what i was looking for, exactly, but his interactions with them gave off an opportunistic tinge. which i get for a crime thriller novel, but still. i do appreciate hailey getting nowhere without their help though.
and that ending was a well-deserved sigh after all the punctuations of emotion i had to undergo.
breezeduvall's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rosecityreader's review
4.0
Ava Barry’s new novel WINDHALL brings the Golden Age of Hollywood back to life through a film noir lens. Barry tells the story well, with plenty of twists and turns, Old Hollywood atmosphere, interesting characters, and an exciting finish. Fans of old movies and good mysteries will love Windhall.
jakewritesbooks's review
3.0
Sigh. Why can’t books like this be easier to review?
There’s so much to like about Ava Barry’s debut novel Windhall…and so much that grated on my nerves. I really wanted to push this to a charity first-book-4-star review and I just couldn’t.
The book kind of feels like the version of the decaying mansion at the center of the story: beautiful and glamorous but uninhabitable and far past its prime.
Probably easier with this one to pull out the old good/bad formula:
Good:
-The book definitely brings old Hollywood to life in a real and interesting way.
-It has a solid knowledge of Los Angeles neighborhoods and deftly highlights the perpetual contrast between past and present in the city.
-Parts of the mystery were well-written and unpredictable.
-It definitely gets the nuances of the crumbling indie journalism industry.
-Has all the makings of a classic LA mystery tale, which is absolutely my bag.
Bad:
-Absolutely could not connect with the lead character. He wasn’t good or bad, he was just…present. It’s a glaring weakness of the whole book.
-The dialogue was wooden and uninspired.
-While the mystery had many twists, the ending was overdone.
-I can usually suspend my believability radar for any fiction but this one really pushed me hard.
I guess overall, I really liked the setting but couldn’t connect with the story…except when I could…but then I didn’t. Seriously, if Barry had a more interesting lead, I could overlook the other flaws but I just don’t really know what Max’s deal was or why I should care. Check this out if you like Old Hollywood tales and don’t mind them fictionalized.
There’s so much to like about Ava Barry’s debut novel Windhall…and so much that grated on my nerves. I really wanted to push this to a charity first-book-4-star review and I just couldn’t.
The book kind of feels like the version of the decaying mansion at the center of the story: beautiful and glamorous but uninhabitable and far past its prime.
Probably easier with this one to pull out the old good/bad formula:
Good:
-The book definitely brings old Hollywood to life in a real and interesting way.
-It has a solid knowledge of Los Angeles neighborhoods and deftly highlights the perpetual contrast between past and present in the city.
-Parts of the mystery were well-written and unpredictable.
-It definitely gets the nuances of the crumbling indie journalism industry.
-Has all the makings of a classic LA mystery tale, which is absolutely my bag.
Bad:
-Absolutely could not connect with the lead character. He wasn’t good or bad, he was just…present. It’s a glaring weakness of the whole book.
-The dialogue was wooden and uninspired.
-While the mystery had many twists, the ending was overdone.
-I can usually suspend my believability radar for any fiction but this one really pushed me hard.
I guess overall, I really liked the setting but couldn’t connect with the story…except when I could…but then I didn’t. Seriously, if Barry had a more interesting lead, I could overlook the other flaws but I just don’t really know what Max’s deal was or why I should care. Check this out if you like Old Hollywood tales and don’t mind them fictionalized.
va1kyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.5
This book suffers most from its unlikable main character, Max Hailey. His motivation to investigate a decades old murder mystery is an abusive grandfather who is entirely unconnected to the events of the murder. Hailey spent years of his childhood in a hospital due to a spinal issue that seems to not effect him in any way as an adult except to hinder his knowledge of swimming- not that that becomes a point of the plot anywhere in the novel. He's a bit of an asshole for no reason and doesn't experience much growth over the course of the story. Some other characters, such as Madeline and Petra, could pretty much have been combined into one person for all the impact their unique identities had on Hailey and the plot itself. Overall, this book is a good read for the twisty plot and Old Hollywood Glamor, but a terrible one for deep (and often tolerable) characters
kimmerthebooknerd's review
5.0
I LOVED Windhall!!!
An unsolved murder from the 1940s in old Hollywood. A journalist on a mission and a story that ended with me yelling OMG as I closed the book slowly and breathed in and out.
This is a novel that makes you feel you are part of the action. There were nicely placed jokes that made you laugh out loud.. then the storyline hit you in the face and then it all started to come together and I couldn’t read it fast enough.
An unsolved murder from the 1940s in old Hollywood. A journalist on a mission and a story that ended with me yelling OMG as I closed the book slowly and breathed in and out.
This is a novel that makes you feel you are part of the action. There were nicely placed jokes that made you laugh out loud.. then the storyline hit you in the face and then it all started to come together and I couldn’t read it fast enough.