Reviews

Viattomien kesken by Paula Herranen, Elizabeth George

Only show reviews with written explanations

unworthy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

susysstories's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A well thought out mystery, with twists, turns, lies, and secrets which at times was difficult to read due to the themes (you should definitely check TW). If not for work I would've read this in a day.
We also continue to follow the lives of our MCs, wondering how those will evolve.

Characters 9
Atmosphere 10
Writing Style 8
Premise 8
Execution/Plot 9
Execution/Pace 9
Execution/Setup 9
Enjoyment/Engrossment 9

kemmer's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Great beach/vacation read!

tctimlin's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I have not read many Inspector Lynley mysteries, so I definitely was not up to speed on the backstories of many of the characters, but the mystery itself was engaging with lots of twists and dead ends. One of Lynley’s Eton schoolmates comes to him for help when a young boy goes missing from the elite boarding school where he teaches. When the child’s body turns up in a graveyard an hour away the race is on to figure out who the murderer is.

Content Warnings

lilylanie's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

It would be quite a stretch to call this literature, but every so often I just need a bit of fluff. Elizabeth George is currently my favourite mystery author, and Well-Schooled in Murder is the third in her series involving Detective Lynley and Inspector Havers.

I almost put this book down after a few pages when I discovered that the subject of the story was a murdered child. However, I guess it's part of George's gift that once you start reading you just have to know what happens. I did find a lot of the book distasteful, and I wouldn't in good conscience recommend it to anyone with a son, but there's no question it was an engrossing mystery and I'm sure I'll read the next one in the series.

I do find that when the stories veer from the murder at hand to the private lives of the main characters (Lynley and Havers), I often skim it quickly to get back to the solving of the mystery. So I was thinking about whether I'd rather they just left that stuff out, but decided that it really is necessary. I think it's important to understand what motivates those characters, their demons and loves, or else they'd just be robots collecting and processing information. Thus, while I don't really give two hoots about Havers' parents, I understand that those segments are necessary to the overall reading experience. Just keep it brief, please. :)