lucyhoad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
kjkg's review
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kalkie's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book I've read by Alex Gray. I mainly picked it up because it's set in my hometown of Glasgow. However, that said, I don't think the book was overly Glaswegian and could actually have been set anywhere. The characters didn't strike me as typically Glaswegian and it certainly wasn't as gritty as an episode of Taggart. That said, it was a good read.
There are actually three parallel stories in the book. The main one is about the accusation of rape levelled against a secondary school teacher by a pupil, who is subsequently found murdered. A second about a snatched toddler; and a third about a young boy called Kyle who is dealing with his father's release from prison. While the first one is the main focus of the book, I found the other two storylines largely unnecessary.
The main "whodunnit" storyline ticks along, but annoyingly the author makes it clear that neither of the two main murder suspects - the accused teacher and schoolboy Kyle - could actually have committed the crime. This means that the reader is put in the position of knowing more than the investigating police which makes the story drag slightly. At the end the murderer is revealed as being a new character to the storyline, which kind of removes any level of suspense that could be generated.
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't have any of the oomph or pace of Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge which was my previous read, and therefore I think this book has been somewhat overshadowed. But I will look out for more Alex Gray books and see if I get on better with them in the future.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf
There are actually three parallel stories in the book. The main one is about the accusation of rape levelled against a secondary school teacher by a pupil, who is subsequently found murdered. A second about a snatched toddler; and a third about a young boy called Kyle who is dealing with his father's release from prison. While the first one is the main focus of the book, I found the other two storylines largely unnecessary.
The main "whodunnit" storyline ticks along, but annoyingly the author makes it clear that neither of the two main murder suspects - the accused teacher and schoolboy Kyle - could actually have committed the crime. This means that the reader is put in the position of knowing more than the investigating police which makes the story drag slightly. At the end the murderer is revealed as being a new character to the storyline, which kind of removes any level of suspense that could be generated.
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't have any of the oomph or pace of Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge which was my previous read, and therefore I think this book has been somewhat overshadowed. But I will look out for more Alex Gray books and see if I get on better with them in the future.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
A case of a young girl snatched from outside her home, an RE teacher accused of rape, after rebuffing the advances of one of his pupils, and said pupil then turning up dead. Just another day for your world weary cop.
A decent enough crime story, leaves you guessing who the murderer is, no real hints until the end. As mentioned by other reviewers the publisher claims it does for Glasgow what Rebus did for Edinburgh, but i never felt that either, the language and characters of Glasgow never really appeared, just a token ex criminal father and a brother had any attempt at the language. It was more the geography of Glasgow with a brief trip past Loch Lomond that was in evidence, but even then it felt more like it was put in for the sake of it rather than being an integral part of the story.
Still i enjoyed the read, as a casual one and would likely check out more in the series.
A decent enough crime story, leaves you guessing who the murderer is, no real hints until the end. As mentioned by other reviewers the publisher claims it does for Glasgow what Rebus did for Edinburgh, but i never felt that either, the language and characters of Glasgow never really appeared, just a token ex criminal father and a brother had any attempt at the language. It was more the geography of Glasgow with a brief trip past Loch Lomond that was in evidence, but even then it felt more like it was put in for the sake of it rather than being an integral part of the story.
Still i enjoyed the read, as a casual one and would likely check out more in the series.
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