whaney's review against another edition
4.0
A good listen. Always fun to read/listen to a book based in Minnesota, even better the Minneapolis area where I've lived before.
On to the second book
On to the second book
alibi313's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked the Minnesota setting and the trappings of “Midwestern noir,” the central investigation was too scattershot and unfocused to elevate this past an average rating.
leigh_marasco's review against another edition
4.0
Rounding up my rating for all of the great MN references - I loved the name dropping of local restaurants and attractions and enjoyed the street turn-by-turns through my neighborhood. Pretty good detective story too!
thebeardedpoet's review against another edition
3.0
The Minneapolis setting is central this mystery, as if the city were an essential character in the book. The cold winter weather also gets thorough attention. The detective Nils Shapiro knows his city and his climate, demonstrating several times that he has the ability to recognize out-of-towners who are unprepared for the harsh Minneapolis conditions. The murder investigated here is devious and extremely well planned. I won't spoil it by any details. The humor is also good throughout. While reading aloud to my wife, I had to edit out quite a bit of profanity though. I also edited out the multi-page sex scenes (the detective with various partners), of which there were three (I think?). I won't rush to read another in this series mainly due to that necessity for editing. My wife said she enjoyed the book, but of course, she got the edited version!
slhandy45's review against another edition
4.0
Solid. Plenty of Minneapolis details. Looking forward to the next one.
booksaremysuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
On one hand, this book does read as your typical Raymond Chandler-esque hardboiled detective story, but on the other, Nils Shapiro is breath of fresh air for the genre. He's sensitive, slightly messy emotionally, and never cool or uncaring. Nor does he seem armed to hilt with any particular set of skills besides doggedness.
I really enjoyed this and it got so that I had a hard time putting it down. It's a fast-paced read with engaging side characters, and Goldman's sense of place is outstanding. Minnesota is an untapped location of wonders for a mystery novel. I've never been to Minneapolis, but now he's made me want to take a trip and explore.
The story is occasionally laugh out loud funny, which I didn't expect. For example, after discovering that his home (or, "shitbox") has been broken into he finds himself lamenting over the sorry state of his slashed furniture in comparison to his ex-wife's lavish furnishings: "Life, even for chairs, is unfair." I kept giggling so much at that line that I had to come back to it again and again.
I have some quibbles, of course. I did feel as though the victim, Maggie Sommerville, remained rather flat on the page and not much of a driving source of anxiety and pain for any of the characters seeking justice for her murder. And were any of her family seeking justice for her murder, for that matter? Her newly found long lost daughter Ainsley Bell seemed to be one of the only people who cared, besides her best friend Beth, and even Ainsley goes on with her life not fully invested, in my opinion, on the state of Nils investigation. We never even got a glimpse of Maggie's other children. She's described as "lovely and kind" but not one of the stories told by those who knew her really expressed this.
The long soliloquy at the end of the book where Nils lays it all out to the killer about how the murder went down feels like a well-worn trope. I hate those long paragraphs of explanation in mysteries, either by the killer or the detective, and would rather the author take the time to have Nils go through the actual "Aha!" moments of solving the crime, versus having it be revealed in hindsight.
But overall, I was HERE for this book and this character and can't wait to dive into its sequel.
I really enjoyed this and it got so that I had a hard time putting it down. It's a fast-paced read with engaging side characters, and Goldman's sense of place is outstanding. Minnesota is an untapped location of wonders for a mystery novel. I've never been to Minneapolis, but now he's made me want to take a trip and explore.
The story is occasionally laugh out loud funny, which I didn't expect. For example, after discovering that his home (or, "shitbox") has been broken into he finds himself lamenting over the sorry state of his slashed furniture in comparison to his ex-wife's lavish furnishings: "Life, even for chairs, is unfair." I kept giggling so much at that line that I had to come back to it again and again.
I have some quibbles, of course. I did feel as though the victim, Maggie Sommerville, remained rather flat on the page and not much of a driving source of anxiety and pain for any of the characters seeking justice for her murder. And were any of her family seeking justice for her murder, for that matter? Her newly found long lost daughter Ainsley Bell seemed to be one of the only people who cared, besides her best friend Beth, and even Ainsley goes on with her life not fully invested, in my opinion, on the state of Nils investigation. We never even got a glimpse of Maggie's other children. She's described as "lovely and kind" but not one of the stories told by those who knew her really expressed this.
The long soliloquy at the end of the book where Nils lays it all out to the killer about how the murder went down feels like a well-worn trope. I hate those long paragraphs of explanation in mysteries, either by the killer or the detective, and would rather the author take the time to have Nils go through the actual "Aha!" moments of solving the crime, versus having it be revealed in hindsight.
But overall, I was HERE for this book and this character and can't wait to dive into its sequel.
cloudyqueer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A debut mystery set in Minnesota and a 2017 staff favorite recommended by Andrea. Check out her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2017/08/15/andreas-pick-of-the-week-gone-to-dust-by-matt-goldman/
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=gone+to+dust+goldman
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=gone+to+dust+goldman
alpakeene's review against another edition
3.0
I’m rating this 3 stars only because I accidentally started with #3 in the series, so I got to experience a much more developed character. In this book, storyline good, enjoyable, characters likeable. But it had that air of naivety where they are still forming who their main character is, whereas by the 3rd book he was really complex and realistic.