sophiemartin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
scnole2021's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mashaki's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bookmoth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
hatswood's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first crime book I've ever read. My wife loves a bit of true crime so I thought I'd dip my toes in with a bit of crime fiction.
I came into this book with an open mind (I think) and to be honest I was a little disappointed. It was very slow, and there were a lot of things going on with seemingly no connection. The story slowly unfolded and things came together, but at the end it felt like a rush to tie everything together neatly and have literally everything connected.
While the premise was interesting and the big reveal was pretty original and something I haven't seen or read before in any other fiction, the execution wasn't as good as it could have been I think. Joy Ellis isn't a debut author with this one but I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that she was. The first couple of hours are basically clumsy exposition but I figured that was normal for the first or near first book in a series following two main characters. The characters don't talk like normal people either which took me out of it a bit. Things along the lines of "Hello Detective Inspector Jackman, I think tomorrow will be a long and troublesome ordeal and I suggest we have a nice meal prepared by your housekeeper and get some good rest to be prepared for it" said by his second in command and ostensibly a good friend he has worked with for years.
I think with a bit more polish and better pacing I would have enjoyed it more, but as is I probably wouldn't recommend it.
I came into this book with an open mind (I think) and to be honest I was a little disappointed. It was very slow, and there were a lot of things going on with seemingly no connection. The story slowly unfolded and things came together, but at the end it felt like a rush to tie everything together neatly and have literally everything connected.
While the premise was interesting and the big reveal was pretty original and something I haven't seen or read before in any other fiction, the execution wasn't as good as it could have been I think. Joy Ellis isn't a debut author with this one but I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that she was. The first couple of hours are basically clumsy exposition but I figured that was normal for the first or near first book in a series following two main characters. The characters don't talk like normal people either which took me out of it a bit. Things along the lines of "Hello Detective Inspector Jackman, I think tomorrow will be a long and troublesome ordeal and I suggest we have a nice meal prepared by your housekeeper and get some good rest to be prepared for it" said by his second in command and ostensibly a good friend he has worked with for years.
I think with a bit more polish and better pacing I would have enjoyed it more, but as is I probably wouldn't recommend it.
dionnes's review against another edition
5.0
Good police mystery.
I had never read a book by this author before. I enjoyed the book and the main characters. There were just enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
I had never read a book by this author before. I enjoyed the book and the main characters. There were just enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.
eicart_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0