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ladyk23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
schopflin's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.5
Twisty plotting, great sense of place, good characters. I've been struggling to read and this was just what I needed.
deschatjes's review against another edition
3.0
Nice to see the female detective who locked up her boss take the lead. The past and present converge in this cold case.
nypeapod's review against another edition
4.0
I love how the author is an expert at weaving all the elements of the different stories she is telling into one big story at the end.
hedwig2's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
drjoannehill's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
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? No
3.5
Audiobook. I guessed some of the outcome (again). It was a bit difficult to follow this one - the structure is mainly set modern day (2007) interspersed with many flashbacks at the time in the story when a witness is telling someone what they saw, for instance. But, interesting stories - two cold cases both from 1984 emerge and start to weave together. The very ending was a bit confusing regarding what exactly was happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
jplayjames's review against another edition
3.5
Nearly knocked off another half star for the abruptness of the ending.
In both Pirie books so far McDermid has done a great job of creating worlds that I am very invested in, and I don't care that the twists are generally fairly predictable for a long time (I view that as the book logically building the case rather than relying on cheap shock twists which I find tiresome).
But the problem with this one was that I think there were so many plot points to resolve that McDermid just... Stopped. A couple thrown in sentences to wrap one up, but mostly none of the post-deduction cleanup and that which is necessary to give these books a sense of closure.
In both Pirie books so far McDermid has done a great job of creating worlds that I am very invested in, and I don't care that the twists are generally fairly predictable for a long time (I view that as the book logically building the case rather than relying on cheap shock twists which I find tiresome).
But the problem with this one was that I think there were so many plot points to resolve that McDermid just... Stopped. A couple thrown in sentences to wrap one up, but mostly none of the post-deduction cleanup and that which is necessary to give these books a sense of closure.
magic_at_mungos's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
whatfern_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0