laurelinwonder's review against another edition
4.0
This is an interesting series, murder mystery intrigue, and kind of reminds me of the Mr Mercedes trilogy by Stephen King. Not as in-depth as that series of course, but certainly has that vibe.
elmogi's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
girlwiththepinkskimask's review against another edition
4.0
One sentence review: Complex, fast-paced, darkly funny
SYNOPSIS
Dismembered body parts of six victims are haphazardly sewn together and pointing into the apartment of disgraced Detective "Wolf" Fawkes. As if the plot isn't thicc enough, Fawkes' ex-wife receives a "hit list" containing the names and future date of death for six targets. Buckle in!!!
MY OPINION
After b2b 1-star stankers and the nail salon doing me INCREDIBLY dirty, I swung by Canadian Barnes & Nobles (Indigo) to drown my sorrows in more books. This was one of my purchases and I started reading as soon as I got home. Oooohhweee I loved this more than the average bear, which doesn't happen often! and I can't wait to watch the series on Amazon Prime. Hopefully it will be just as juicy.
Yeetage of disbelief is required. This is a Criminal Minds crazy crime. BUT the logic of solving a criminal case is still in tact, which is why I don't mind tossin my disbelief to the side. As long as the mechanics of detective work are still based in realism and a clear motive exists, idc how OTT the actual crime is. Fight me!!! (pls don't, I'm very prissy)
Anyways. For a debut I was very impressed. The writing was on pizzzzoint. Homie can write. Great showing, minimal telling. Dark humor woven throughout that had me chortling. Butt cheeks were clenched in suspense throughout several scenes.
On top of the great writing, he wove an intricate web that kept me guessing. Many moving parts come together in the end but there is a huge ass cliffhanger that had me scrambling online for book #2. This is told in third-person narration, BUT there is a lot of "jumping heads" in one scene without scene breaks, which some might be annoyed with.
I also felt there was a lot of distance between the reader and Wolf; homeboy was due to die but seemed nonchalant about it. I would've appreciated more exploration of how one feels when they are literally scheduled to die. There could've been some serious emotional wreckage here.
Beware for those who are anti-romance, there is an undercurrent of romantic tension throughout the book which is so subtle it's reminiscent of relationships in Nordic Noir. I'm excited to see how their relationship develops throughout the series. I think I'm becoming a romantic suspense fan?????
My main rich homie qualm (google "rich homie quan" to understand the plan on words) is several basic leads weren't investigated. ie: the baddie uses a website to hire wannabe actors for a protest, but there is no follow up by cybercrime to track down the account/IP address etc. It seemed like the author had his mind made up of what would lead to cracking the case and wouldn't consider anything else. He said basic forensics?? NAH. CLUES ONLY UNCOVERED BY METICULOUSLY REVIEWING OLD CASE FILES!!!!!!!!
Tbh I know Wolf was the head honcho, but Edmunds was the real hero let's be real. I hope he stays around for the rest of the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, fast paced, tres juicy case, thicc ass plot, big cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting more!, complex characters
Cons: basic leads weren't chased down in favour for a more complex reveal
SYNOPSIS
Dismembered body parts of six victims are haphazardly sewn together and pointing into the apartment of disgraced Detective "Wolf" Fawkes. As if the plot isn't thicc enough, Fawkes' ex-wife receives a "hit list" containing the names and future date of death for six targets. Buckle in!!!
MY OPINION
After b2b 1-star stankers and the nail salon doing me INCREDIBLY dirty, I swung by Canadian Barnes & Nobles (Indigo) to drown my sorrows in more books. This was one of my purchases and I started reading as soon as I got home. Oooohhweee I loved this more than the average bear, which doesn't happen often! and I can't wait to watch the series on Amazon Prime. Hopefully it will be just as juicy.
Yeetage of disbelief is required. This is a Criminal Minds crazy crime. BUT the logic of solving a criminal case is still in tact, which is why I don't mind tossin my disbelief to the side. As long as the mechanics of detective work are still based in realism and a clear motive exists, idc how OTT the actual crime is. Fight me!!! (pls don't, I'm very prissy)
Anyways. For a debut I was very impressed. The writing was on pizzzzoint. Homie can write. Great showing, minimal telling. Dark humor woven throughout that had me chortling. Butt cheeks were clenched in suspense throughout several scenes.
On top of the great writing, he wove an intricate web that kept me guessing. Many moving parts come together in the end but there is a huge ass cliffhanger that had me scrambling online for book #2. This is told in third-person narration, BUT there is a lot of "jumping heads" in one scene without scene breaks, which some might be annoyed with.
I also felt there was a lot of distance between the reader and Wolf; homeboy was due to die but seemed nonchalant about it. I would've appreciated more exploration of how one feels when they are literally scheduled to die. There could've been some serious emotional wreckage here.
Beware for those who are anti-romance, there is an undercurrent of romantic tension throughout the book which is so subtle it's reminiscent of relationships in Nordic Noir. I'm excited to see how their relationship develops throughout the series. I think I'm becoming a romantic suspense fan?????
My main rich homie qualm (google "rich homie quan" to understand the plan on words) is several basic leads weren't investigated. ie: the baddie uses a website to hire wannabe actors for a protest, but there is no follow up by cybercrime to track down the account/IP address etc. It seemed like the author had his mind made up of what would lead to cracking the case and wouldn't consider anything else. He said basic forensics?? NAH. CLUES ONLY UNCOVERED BY METICULOUSLY REVIEWING OLD CASE FILES!!!!!!!!
Tbh I know Wolf was the head honcho, but Edmunds was the real hero let's be real. I hope he stays around for the rest of the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, fast paced, tres juicy case, thicc ass plot, big cliffhanger that leaves the reader wanting more!, complex characters
Cons: basic leads weren't chased down in favour for a more complex reveal
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
Finished reading: February 12th 2023
"There are no 'good' people. There are just those who haven’t been pushed far enough yet, and those that have."
I needed something good after a recent bout of bad luck with my reading choices, and I decided to turn to my favorite genre. I always love a good serial killer thriller, and I've been meaning to read Ragdoll for years now. And wow, what a read it turned out to be! I'm definitely kicking myself now for not reading it sooner... This first book of a trilogy turned out to be everything I love in a serial killer thriller and more. Ragdoll has such a cleverly constructed and complex plot, and there is action and danger to be found around every corner. The characters are considerably flawed, but somehow still likeable and I enjoyed spending time with them to get to know them better. The story starts out strong with the first 'victim' actually being six stitched into one (WHAT a way to open a story!), and the whole kill list only adds an extra urgency to it all. I did find Wolf's ex-wife Andrea to be extremely annoying and self-absorbed, but I guess she was ment to be this way... But thankfully there is so much going on that you are easily distracted. There were some twists I never saw coming either, and as a whole Ragdoll turned out to be a fantastic start of a series and just the dose of dark crime thriller I was craving. And with how things ended, I'm definitely more than curious to see how things will continue in the next book!
mopraha's review against another edition
3.0
Le 1er tiers du livre est haletant. Les personnages intéressant l’histoire prenante. Le rythme se perd un peu dans la suite. Si j’ai aimée l’histoire dans sa globalité la résolution m’a déçue, un peu trop tirée par les cheveux pour moi. Le déroulement de l’enquête malgré la promesse du départ est somme toute très classique. Et la mise en scène du début si elle est spectaculaire n’a que très peux d’intérêt pour la suite du récit. Dommage. Je ne pense pas lire la suite.
findingthefantasticstory's review
3.0
I'm giving this 3 stars as I'm not sure what to think at the moment. I liked the plot and there were some unexpected twists but everything seemed pointless after the main twist had been revealed.
amadeus68's review against another edition
5.0
Αστικοί μύθοι, φρικιαστικά εγκλήματα, ιδιοφυής δολοφόνος και (τουλάχιστον) ιδιαίτερος αστυνομικός. Ένα πρωτότυπο και αγωνιώδες ντεμπούτο που αξίξει να διαβαστεί από τους λάτρεις της αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας.
sugar_book_fairy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
noveldeelights's review against another edition
5.0
One body, six victims. If that doesn't grab your attention, I don't know what will. It certainly grabbed mine.
A body is discovered. Not just any body. It's comprised off six different victims, stitched together to make one macabre find. A "ragdoll", name courtesy of the media.
Detective William Falkes, Wolf, has only recently been reinstated to the London Met. He and his former partner Emily Baxter are now in charge of finding a very clever killer. A killer who isn't done yet as he is taunting them with a hitlist containing a further six names.
Not only do the detectives need to find out who the body parts belong to, they also need to find a way to protect the remaining six potential victims and it's a race against time with the whole world watching.
I loved this book from the very first page! Not just the crime aspect, but the characters drew me in from the start. They're not perfect. They have baggage and flaws and a secret or two, which only makes things more believable and realistic.
It's at times quite dark but it also has humorous parts. All in all, it's a thrilling ride and I had no idea where it was going. Brilliant and a well deserved 5 star rating. I can't wait for the next one in this series.
A body is discovered. Not just any body. It's comprised off six different victims, stitched together to make one macabre find. A "ragdoll", name courtesy of the media.
Detective William Falkes, Wolf, has only recently been reinstated to the London Met. He and his former partner Emily Baxter are now in charge of finding a very clever killer. A killer who isn't done yet as he is taunting them with a hitlist containing a further six names.
Not only do the detectives need to find out who the body parts belong to, they also need to find a way to protect the remaining six potential victims and it's a race against time with the whole world watching.
I loved this book from the very first page! Not just the crime aspect, but the characters drew me in from the start. They're not perfect. They have baggage and flaws and a secret or two, which only makes things more believable and realistic.
It's at times quite dark but it also has humorous parts. All in all, it's a thrilling ride and I had no idea where it was going. Brilliant and a well deserved 5 star rating. I can't wait for the next one in this series.
leesans's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0