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herthrillingreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
julsaz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
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
cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
4.0
DI Lena Lorenzen is on holiday with her boyfriend on the North Frisian island of Amrum when her boss calls. DS Warnke requests her help to look for a missing teenage girl. Maria Logener seems to have disappeared from a nearby island and Warnke’s wife is acquainted with her parents. The case is sensitive because the Logener family are members of a very conservative church which many consider to be a cult. Nobody on the small island of Föhr, especially Maria’s parents, are cooperative in the investigation and Lena runs into one obstacle after another. However, she sees herself in the fourteen-year-old and won’t give up until she gets to the truth about what really happened to Maria.
This book is the second in a series, but I didn’t read the first one. I feel I missed out on some of Lena’s background, but was still able to enjoy the book. Lena is a complicated character. She is a caring and excellent detective, but sometimes makes questionable choices in her personal life. I don’t always like Lena, but I do respect her intelligence and her strength. I wasn’t familiar with the setting of the book, the Northern Frisian Islands, but I enjoyed learning about this area of the world.
The mystery of what happened to Maria is suspenseful and the procedural elements of the book are very well done. Even when I didn’t understand some of the things Lena did in her personal life, I loved the way she handled the investigation and all the complications which arose. The investigation goes in circles for a little bit since so many of the local residents didn’t want to tell the police the truth. When everything finally comes out, it was a bit of a letdown considering the build-up throughout the book. However, I enjoyed the characters and the unique setting, and I would love to read additional books in this series.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Thomas and Mercer. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the second in a series, but I didn’t read the first one. I feel I missed out on some of Lena’s background, but was still able to enjoy the book. Lena is a complicated character. She is a caring and excellent detective, but sometimes makes questionable choices in her personal life. I don’t always like Lena, but I do respect her intelligence and her strength. I wasn’t familiar with the setting of the book, the Northern Frisian Islands, but I enjoyed learning about this area of the world.
The mystery of what happened to Maria is suspenseful and the procedural elements of the book are very well done. Even when I didn’t understand some of the things Lena did in her personal life, I loved the way she handled the investigation and all the complications which arose. The investigation goes in circles for a little bit since so many of the local residents didn’t want to tell the police the truth. When everything finally comes out, it was a bit of a letdown considering the build-up throughout the book. However, I enjoyed the characters and the unique setting, and I would love to read additional books in this series.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Thomas and Mercer. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
monikasbookblog's review against another edition
4.0
A suicide -murder mystery with a lady detective as lead. The entire story is said in a woman’s perspective, you can feel the detective’s confusion, her fear and her thoughts. Death on the beach is a second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. The author has truly captivated the “community thinking” in this book. The language is good, not much of thrilling moments, but good amount of mystery. The only drawback was that the story is slow moving for a murder mystery! 3.75/5
crystal6's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.
A slow pace mystery story set in the German islands. There is a religious/ cult element running through the story. The main characters personal life is dreary and I think the book should have concentrated on the mystery more.
A slow pace mystery story set in the German islands. There is a religious/ cult element running through the story. The main characters personal life is dreary and I think the book should have concentrated on the mystery more.
brookesbooks18's review against another edition
2.0
I want to start by saying this is not a bad book, this review is based solely on personal enjoyment. The things I really liked about this book were the writing style which was unique and enjoyable, the island setting which is one of my favourites for a murder mystery and I loved the protagonist, detective Lena. We got to see not only her journey through the investigation but also her home life with family drama, relationship struggles and personal growth.
I did however decide to not continue with this book at the 60% mark and this was due to the fact that I was not engaged with the story and it got to the point where I didn't actually care how the story ended. I realised that I had enjoyed what I had from this story but I wasn't going to get anymore from it and had to choose to leave it.
If a murder mystery is something you're looking for then this book does have great potential, for some reason I just didn't click with it!
I did however decide to not continue with this book at the 60% mark and this was due to the fact that I was not engaged with the story and it got to the point where I didn't actually care how the story ended. I realised that I had enjoyed what I had from this story but I wasn't going to get anymore from it and had to choose to leave it.
If a murder mystery is something you're looking for then this book does have great potential, for some reason I just didn't click with it!
kourtneyalexis's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars.
This was an entertaining read, but there's nothing exceptional or exciting that stood out here.
A 14 year old girl is found dead on the beach, she's a member of a highly devout religious sect. The police procedural part was what is to be expected. Lena Lorenzen is in charge of the investigation, pulled away from her vacation with her long lost childhood sweetheart. Again, the story was good, but nothing heart pounding that stood out.
I look forward to checking out the next book in the series.
A special thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Anna Johannsen for providing me with an ARC.
This was an entertaining read, but there's nothing exceptional or exciting that stood out here.
A 14 year old girl is found dead on the beach, she's a member of a highly devout religious sect. The police procedural part was what is to be expected. Lena Lorenzen is in charge of the investigation, pulled away from her vacation with her long lost childhood sweetheart. Again, the story was good, but nothing heart pounding that stood out.
I look forward to checking out the next book in the series.
A special thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Anna Johannsen for providing me with an ARC.
javierfp82's review against another edition
4.0
Second instalment in the "Island Mystery" series, "Death on the beach" is a good example of a pretty entertaining police procedural.
Once again the story takes off almost from page one, diving straight into a missing person investigation that soon becomes a murder one. The investigation turns out to be pretty complicated because the dead girl's family belong to an evangelical cult and they don't seem too keen on helping the police. Besides DI Lorenzen is dealing with some personal issues, and that's my main problem with the story and the character. I understand she can have doubts about her relationship, but stop leading him on if you don't know what you want in life. Talk to him and stop ruminating about your love life!
The other issue I had with this story was the ending. While not being completely out of the blue it felt a bit unsatisfying.
It was an entertaining enough police procedural but I would have liked a bit more personal growth on the main character, but hopefully we'll see some of that on book 3.
3.5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Once again the story takes off almost from page one, diving straight into a missing person investigation that soon becomes a murder one. The investigation turns out to be pretty complicated because the dead girl's family belong to an evangelical cult and they don't seem too keen on helping the police. Besides DI Lorenzen is dealing with some personal issues, and that's my main problem with the story and the character. I understand she can have doubts about her relationship, but stop leading him on if you don't know what you want in life. Talk to him and stop ruminating about your love life!
The other issue I had with this story was the ending. While not being completely out of the blue it felt a bit unsatisfying.
It was an entertaining enough police procedural but I would have liked a bit more personal growth on the main character, but hopefully we'll see some of that on book 3.
3.5 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
monikasbookblog's review
4.0
A suicide -murder mystery with a lady detective as lead. The entire story is said in a woman’s perspective, you can feel the detective’s confusion, her fear and her thoughts. Death on the beach is a second book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. The author has truly captivated the “community thinking” in this book. The language is good, not much of thrilling moments, but good amount of mystery. The only drawback was that the story is slow moving for a murder mystery! 3.75/5
abercrombie1986's review
3.0
While Detective Lena Lorenzen is visiting her long distance boyfriend, she is called in to run an investigation of a missing girl on a nearby island. As the investigation deepens, she tries to find answers from an unhelpful close knit community.
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