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hfg96's review
4.0
Overview
Rating - 4 stars (7.5/10 rounded up to 8/10)
Best thing - plot twist
Worst thing - struggled to get into it at the beginning
Bottom line - enjoyable crime/mystery story
Details
Likes
- the setting (I'm biased because I'm Scottish)
- did not see the plot twist coming at all (could be because I haven't read that much, so a more seasoned reader might predict it) (had comepletly forgotten what happened from the first season of the TV series)
- the changes in POV were a good length for me (I don't like staying in one POV for a long time, personal prefence thing)
- liked the balance between the murder mystery, and the characters personal storys and development, wasn't too heavily squewed one way or the other
- author didn't give away all the details making it impossible (for me anyway) to figure out who the killer was, author leading by the hand which felt very different from other crime/murder mystery books I've read (again, I haven't read a lot so a more well-read reader might feel very differently about this)
- easy reading once I got going
- pace picks up at the end
Dislikes
- the inevitable discrepancy issue which comes with any book and its TV or film adaptation in that the characters that I read in the book don't quite fit (for me personally), and was a bit jarring at times (this is not a critique of the book or of the TV show, but rather something to watch out for if you've seen the show, and want to read the books)
- found it difficult to get into at first
- sometimes there was a bit of unnecessary over sexualisation of young women, potentially I'm overly sensetive about that, not sure
Recommend?
Yes if ...
- you're looking for a fairly easy read in the murder mystery/crime genre
- you enjoyed "The Chessmen" books by Peter May and are looking for something similar
- you enjoyed the TV show ("Shetland")
No if ...
- you like being given enough detail by the author to figure out 'whodunit' on your own
- you didn't enjoy the TV show ("Shetland")
Other/Miscellaneous
Looking forward to the next book "White Nights"
Summary
Enjoyable crime/murder mystery story with an exciting unpredictable end
Rating - 4 stars (7.5/10 rounded up to 8/10)
Best thing - plot twist
Worst thing - struggled to get into it at the beginning
Bottom line - enjoyable crime/mystery story
Details
Likes
- the setting (I'm biased because I'm Scottish)
- did not see the plot twist coming at all (could be because I haven't read that much, so a more seasoned reader might predict it) (had comepletly forgotten what happened from the first season of the TV series)
- the changes in POV were a good length for me (I don't like staying in one POV for a long time, personal prefence thing)
- liked the balance between the murder mystery, and the characters personal storys and development, wasn't too heavily squewed one way or the other
- author didn't give away all the details making it impossible (for me anyway) to figure out who the killer was, author leading by the hand which felt very different from other crime/murder mystery books I've read (again, I haven't read a lot so a more well-read reader might feel very differently about this)
- easy reading once I got going
- pace picks up at the end
Dislikes
- the inevitable discrepancy issue which comes with any book and its TV or film adaptation in that the characters that I read in the book don't quite fit (for me personally), and was a bit jarring at times (this is not a critique of the book or of the TV show, but rather something to watch out for if you've seen the show, and want to read the books)
- found it difficult to get into at first
- sometimes there was a bit of unnecessary over sexualisation of young women, potentially I'm overly sensetive about that, not sure
Recommend?
Yes if ...
- you're looking for a fairly easy read in the murder mystery/crime genre
- you enjoyed "The Chessmen" books by Peter May and are looking for something similar
- you enjoyed the TV show ("Shetland")
No if ...
- you like being given enough detail by the author to figure out 'whodunit' on your own
- you didn't enjoy the TV show ("Shetland")
Other/Miscellaneous
Looking forward to the next book "White Nights"
Summary
Enjoyable crime/murder mystery story with an exciting unpredictable end
debsd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
ramonasultana's review
4.0
Good start to a book series. Thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the Shetland Islands and their inhabitants living in such remote places.
Atmospheric. I kept guessing who the murderer was till the end as the way Ann Cleeves builds suspense, it could have been any of the characters. I do enjoy forensic investigative tests and finding clues from an autopsy etc. and these were non-existent in this story and was more based on people confessing to the crime.
I felt quite sorry for Magnus living in such a remote place in solitude with just a pet raven and felt he is as much a victim as Catriona.
Atmospheric. I kept guessing who the murderer was till the end as the way Ann Cleeves builds suspense, it could have been any of the characters. I do enjoy forensic investigative tests and finding clues from an autopsy etc. and these were non-existent in this story and was more based on people confessing to the crime.
I felt quite sorry for Magnus living in such a remote place in solitude with just a pet raven and felt he is as much a victim as Catriona.
leelee77's review
5.0
Loved this, didn’t see the twist coming. Looking forward to reading the next one.
heiditighe's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
adrianjd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Love the TV series and pleased to see that whilst this is a similar story to the television programme it is not identical. Therefore can be read as a pleasure in itself and is not spoilt if you have seen the TV dramatisation. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series
peregrinep's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
chartsh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0