flynn_cormac's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the book well enough, 1 of my favourites or one that will stick with me? No. I think it was interesting for me as the theme of religion is topical in my life right. I cannot clearly remember the first novel in this series but it was obviously good enough for me to want to read the next one. I have a feeling that I much preferred the first book. I don't think there was a real story here. You knew who did what and so you you were reading to find out what happened these people in the end. It predictable, nothing new or original to be found. Anti-climatic. I thought the end came sharply. The fight between antagonist and protagonist was disappointing though I liked the character of Roberta. Neville creates the sense of a cold and evil woman very well in this book. I wasn't impressed by the book however I would read the next installation and perhaps other works of this author as it was a very easy read.
myrdyr's review
4.0
3.9/5 stars. There were no surprises, but I enjoyed reading it because of the excellent writing and the well-developed characters.
bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
DCI Serena Flanagan shares the characteristics we often associate with detectives and cops in fiction, film and television. She has a strong streak of defiance which sends her off to find answers contrary to the orders of her superiors, and has difficulty balancing her job and personal life. In the second DCI Serena Flanagan novel, Serena has alienated her husband and two young children. While there are references to events in the first novel, not much detail is provided, and readers who haven't read it may not find sufficient detail in this novel to understand the couple's growing separation. Serena is not an introspective person, which may actually help her to be better at her job. She is a woman of action and reaction, not of introspection and reflection.
Flanagan arrives at the scene of an apparent suicide. Like all good cops, she somewhat reluctantly accepts the pathologist's conclusion. Something doesn't seem quite right and she finds herself looking closely at each of the individuals she interviews to see if everything seems "right" with them. Very early on, she finds something a bit off with the widow. By breaking rules and disobeying orders, Flanagan investigates and begins to find cracks in the facade of the widow's story. From early on, she wonders where this woman, Roberta Garrick, came from. This is the aspect of the story that I found difficult to fathom. Northern Ireland is a very small place. With years of paramilitary activity, and heightened security, I don't imagine it is easy for someone to appear out of "nowhere" and not be scrutinized. In this case, it is possible that the lonely millionaire she married was besotted and protective of his wife. However I didn't understand why Flanagan didn't immediately pursue this line of inquiry.
The setting of the novel is the imaginary small town of Morganstown. I hadn't heard of it, and checked to see if it exists. Lisburn, the nearby city, provides a clue to the geography and setting of the area southwest of Belfast, and there is no Morganstown anywhere in Northern Ireland.
This was, despite some short comings, a book that was hard to put down. This is Neville's first series and it has a lot of potential. I look forward to future installments in the Serena Flanagan series.
Flanagan arrives at the scene of an apparent suicide. Like all good cops, she somewhat reluctantly accepts the pathologist's conclusion. Something doesn't seem quite right and she finds herself looking closely at each of the individuals she interviews to see if everything seems "right" with them. Very early on, she finds something a bit off with the widow. By breaking rules and disobeying orders, Flanagan investigates and begins to find cracks in the facade of the widow's story. From early on, she wonders where this woman, Roberta Garrick, came from. This is the aspect of the story that I found difficult to fathom. Northern Ireland is a very small place. With years of paramilitary activity, and heightened security, I don't imagine it is easy for someone to appear out of "nowhere" and not be scrutinized. In this case, it is possible that the lonely millionaire she married was besotted and protective of his wife. However I didn't understand why Flanagan didn't immediately pursue this line of inquiry.
The setting of the novel is the imaginary small town of Morganstown. I hadn't heard of it, and checked to see if it exists. Lisburn, the nearby city, provides a clue to the geography and setting of the area southwest of Belfast, and there is no Morganstown anywhere in Northern Ireland.
This was, despite some short comings, a book that was hard to put down. This is Neville's first series and it has a lot of potential. I look forward to future installments in the Serena Flanagan series.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
I've been a fan of Neville's since his first book, The Ghosts of Belfast. This is the second book in the DCI Serena Flanagan series. The first one was incredibly chilling. This one was even more so. I often wonder how authors can envision the twisted characters they present in their books. So far Neville hasn't disappointed me. DCI Flanagan's husband was attacked in the last book by the suspects she was chasing. She also was being treated for breast cancer. This book finds her husband and children pulling away from her because they perceive her as more interested in her job than them. When Flanagan is called in to do what is normally a routine investigation of a suicide, something doesn't add up. It's just a feeling, but it nags at her. There's no mystery here, but the building suspense is incredible. Neville is an accomplished writer who writes very well. I really like this character. I hope, however, he writes another Jack Lennon book.
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.0
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/so-say-fallen.html
maureenmccombs's review
3.0
The first book in this series blew my socks off so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. It felt like a great deal of anticipation with no payoff. You know who the villain is from the beginning so there was not much suspense. I still very much like the DCI Flanagan character so I will likely read the next by this author where Flanagan is the main character. For such a strong female protagonist, her husband is a bit of a namby-pamby and I don't enjoy his churlishness at all. Overall a good but not great read.
carlyque's review against another edition
3.0
Love him but this didn't have the energy of the early books, nor the color. Red-headed sex demon a bit too stereotyped too, as was sad sack parson.
writtenbysime's review against another edition
5.0
Last year I called Stuart Neville’s Those We Left Behind “a true hallmark of the genre,” and have spent the months since its release desperate to read his next. You know what it’s like when the shadow of an absolutely brilliant crime novel casts over subsequent books in your reading stack: oh, there’s stuff there you’ll enjoy, but nothing quite matches up to the quality of that effervescent goliath. So when an ARC of the second Serena Flanagan novel dropped in my lap, it was very much a case of drop everything and read! Expectations were high — hyperbolic, in fact — and I felt a slight twinge that I’d placed too much of a burden on Neville’s shoulders. I hadn’t, though. Like its predecessor, So Say the Fallen is a brilliant crime novel, and further underlines Stuart Neville’s credentials as one of the best contemporary crime writers.
When So Say the Fallen opens, DCI Serena Flanagan is still dealing with the fallout from her last major case, detailed in Those We Left Behind (which I won’t delve into here – this is a safe place, readers, free from spoilers). Suffice to say, her home life is suffering as a result, and the breakdown of her marriage seems imminent. The new case thrust into her hands doesn’t appear to have the same significance: a severely disabled local businessman has committed suicide, and Flanagan is called to the scene to sign off on the cause of death. The scene is clean, and all evidence points to suicide – but something about the businessman’s widow troubles Flanagan. So too the edginess of the reverend, with whom the widow is suspiciously close to. Despite the wishes of her superiors, Flanagan digs deeper, unravelling the tragedies that have plagued the widow’s life — and eventually the cold, dark truth.
Faith plays an integral role in So Say the Fallen —both the reverend’s, and Flanagan’s — and it’s a theme that is explored with incredible deftness. I’m always wary of being preached to when religion pops up in books, but nothing like that is evident here; it’s beautifully unobtrusive, and adds a new layer to Neville’s protagonist. At multiple points during this story, Flanagan finds herself questioning her path, and trying to fill a void in her life: faith in a higher power would go some way to restoring her. It’s not as cut-and-dried as that, of course – but I truly admire Neville’s willingness to dive into the subject.
In terms of narrative structure, So Say the Fallen isn’t so much a whodunit — we know the truth, or at least shades of it, very early on in the piece —but an extrapolation of motive. Indeed, motive is the driving force behind the novel, as Neville seeks to answer what inspires Flanagan to put her life on the line – and the sanctity of her family – every single day; why does the reverend continue to preach, given the dissipation of his own faith; why would a disabled businessman, who had apparently accepted his fate, suddenly decide to end his own life? This is less a novel of who, but rather, why. And it offers a nice change of pace from the archetypal mysteries clogging bookstore shelves.
So Say the Fallen is a damn fine novel, blending high personal stakes and character depth alongside traditional genre elements. Without question it will rank as one of the best crime novels I read this year. Anything that tops it will have to absolutely blow my socks off. It’s really that good.
When So Say the Fallen opens, DCI Serena Flanagan is still dealing with the fallout from her last major case, detailed in Those We Left Behind (which I won’t delve into here – this is a safe place, readers, free from spoilers). Suffice to say, her home life is suffering as a result, and the breakdown of her marriage seems imminent. The new case thrust into her hands doesn’t appear to have the same significance: a severely disabled local businessman has committed suicide, and Flanagan is called to the scene to sign off on the cause of death. The scene is clean, and all evidence points to suicide – but something about the businessman’s widow troubles Flanagan. So too the edginess of the reverend, with whom the widow is suspiciously close to. Despite the wishes of her superiors, Flanagan digs deeper, unravelling the tragedies that have plagued the widow’s life — and eventually the cold, dark truth.
Faith plays an integral role in So Say the Fallen —both the reverend’s, and Flanagan’s — and it’s a theme that is explored with incredible deftness. I’m always wary of being preached to when religion pops up in books, but nothing like that is evident here; it’s beautifully unobtrusive, and adds a new layer to Neville’s protagonist. At multiple points during this story, Flanagan finds herself questioning her path, and trying to fill a void in her life: faith in a higher power would go some way to restoring her. It’s not as cut-and-dried as that, of course – but I truly admire Neville’s willingness to dive into the subject.
In terms of narrative structure, So Say the Fallen isn’t so much a whodunit — we know the truth, or at least shades of it, very early on in the piece —but an extrapolation of motive. Indeed, motive is the driving force behind the novel, as Neville seeks to answer what inspires Flanagan to put her life on the line – and the sanctity of her family – every single day; why does the reverend continue to preach, given the dissipation of his own faith; why would a disabled businessman, who had apparently accepted his fate, suddenly decide to end his own life? This is less a novel of who, but rather, why. And it offers a nice change of pace from the archetypal mysteries clogging bookstore shelves.
So Say the Fallen is a damn fine novel, blending high personal stakes and character depth alongside traditional genre elements. Without question it will rank as one of the best crime novels I read this year. Anything that tops it will have to absolutely blow my socks off. It’s really that good.