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gipfelglueck's review against another edition
4.0
A long read, it took me quite some time to get hooked. In the end I can say it's a great story, sad and cruel. I don't remember much of the war and horror in Bosnia, but now I'd love to learn more and to travel there and meet people.
wakenda's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really a mystery reader, and this book didn't win me over to the genre, but I really enjoyed the parts about the Bosnian genocide and Srebrenica.
jpustka's review against another edition
3.0
This is a well-researched historical mystery. The historical part is its strength. I didn't find the story, characters, or mystery that compelling, though.
larabreanne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found this book wildly uneven - sometimes I thought the writing was really strong, and I appreciated particular turns of phrases. But the romantic aspects of it were pretty cringey (I started getting Fourth Wing flashbacks). Esa was acting like a 12 year old, and I just didn’t buy it.
I also thought the second half was much better than the first half. All that being said, I learned a lot, so I’m glad I read it.
I also thought the second half was much better than the first half. All that being said, I learned a lot, so I’m glad I read it.
mls8957's review against another edition
4.0
3.75. I felt the mystery itself was a bit lacking. The horrors describing the actions against the Bosnian people and all that they endured is heartbreaking. I’m curious to read more in this series.
askatknits's review
3.0
Book one in a series always is a bit of a challenge as you figure out the characters, their backgrounds, and how they came to be together. Rachel and Esa have wonderful potential. This story tackles a devastating time in history (the Bosnian War Crimes) and did so incredibly well! I struggled at first to keep things straight, but thankfully reading on the kindle makes remembering details easy. I am eager to read more of this series.
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
Oof.
Reading this right after the Cellist of Sarajevo, and I had hoped that it might contain a bit more in the way of thoughtful insight into the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War. And it did absolutely contain more actual references to the war than Galloway's book. Explicitly so. Part of me wonders if the author would have been better off writing a non fiction book because she clearly knows her stuff re: human rights.
It's also... an uncomfortable read, not least for the war imagery (which goes into detail, be warned) but for the unrelenting misogyny. That was very unexpected; every line is dripping with it whenever a woman is present. I've never seen anything like it. The main POV is a female detective who just seethes whenever she has to interact with another woman and very quickly it's apparent that this isn't *just* the internalised misogyny of the character but endemic in the writing. It's cartoonishly over the top.
The 'hero' of our story, Esa Khattak is held up as a noble, quiet man, deeply principled and driven to do good... but we don't see it. He keeps his partner in the dark, he has a sort of taboo dalliance with a suspect that doesn't really count since it's all very chivalrous, and he's also a complete blank. He's meant to be a detective with a poet's soul or something, but he's cardboard. Hot, sexy cardboard given the number of times we're reminded of his 'exotic' good looks lol.
Shakey characterisation and writing overall to be frank. Billed as the first in a series, but events are harked back to assuming a level of knowledge the reader simply doesn't have because the author hasn't given it to us lol. If it's meant as a bread crumb trail allusion, it fails.
I got the sense of a nugget of compelling story here, but the execution was just... not there. I don't read a lot of crime thrillers, but this doesn't strike me as a particularly good example of the genre.
Reading this right after the Cellist of Sarajevo, and I had hoped that it might contain a bit more in the way of thoughtful insight into the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian War. And it did absolutely contain more actual references to the war than Galloway's book. Explicitly so. Part of me wonders if the author would have been better off writing a non fiction book because she clearly knows her stuff re: human rights.
It's also... an uncomfortable read, not least for the war imagery (which goes into detail, be warned) but for the unrelenting misogyny. That was very unexpected; every line is dripping with it whenever a woman is present. I've never seen anything like it. The main POV is a female detective who just seethes whenever she has to interact with another woman and very quickly it's apparent that this isn't *just* the internalised misogyny of the character but endemic in the writing. It's cartoonishly over the top.
The 'hero' of our story, Esa Khattak is held up as a noble, quiet man, deeply principled and driven to do good... but we don't see it. He keeps his partner in the dark, he has a sort of taboo dalliance with a suspect that doesn't really count since it's all very chivalrous, and he's also a complete blank. He's meant to be a detective with a poet's soul or something, but he's cardboard. Hot, sexy cardboard given the number of times we're reminded of his 'exotic' good looks lol.
Shakey characterisation and writing overall to be frank. Billed as the first in a series, but events are harked back to assuming a level of knowledge the reader simply doesn't have because the author hasn't given it to us lol. If it's meant as a bread crumb trail allusion, it fails.
I got the sense of a nugget of compelling story here, but the execution was just... not there. I don't read a lot of crime thrillers, but this doesn't strike me as a particularly good example of the genre.