Reviews

The Girls on the Shore by Ann Cleeves

mschwartz's review

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

oceans_hannah's review

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

deirdreanais's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

teal_reader's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

As a short story, it’s quite good, but it is *very* short, and certainly not a ’novella’ as the cover would have you believe. If anything, it’s more of a teaser/trailer for the next Vera novel even though the short story itself is set within the ‘Two Rivers’ world (after the short story, there are then 3 chapters included from the upcoming Vera book). If you like the Two Rivers series of books featuring Matthew Venn (as I do), then this short story is worth borrowing through Libby, but I’m certainly glad I didn’t spend any money on it. 

taleisin's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

2.5

ari_reading_'s review

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2.0

2.5
I found this very randomly on my kindle and was intrigued. I definitely expected more of a mystery but the tension and suspense were there.
This could definitely have been a full length novel honestly.
However, apart from that, nothing really grabbed my eye, hence the 2.5.

aliciagoeser's review

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challenging mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

kgraham10's review

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2.0

I love this series. The characters are fully developed and the writing pulls you in. But this was not a book or a novella or even a good short story. It felt like an intro chapter. It wasn’t resolved. Highly frustrating.

gill4169's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cj_mo_2222's review

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4.0

I love Ann Cleeves and love the Matthew Venn series and was eager to read this short story. It is a good story, but VERY SHORT. On my Kindle, it was about 14 pages. The remaining pages are a preview of an upcoming book in the Vera Stanhope series. In spite of the short length, I enjoyed the story and how Matthew's colleague Jen quickly gets to the bottom of a situation of two young girls wandering on the beach alone close to Matthew's home. It made me look forward to a new Venn novel as well as the new Vera book that is previewed at the end. I highly recommend this author and both the Two Rivers and the Vera Stanhope series, but while The Girls on the Shore is a complete story, it's more of a teaser as to how great the Two Rivers series is.