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usbsticky's review against another edition
4.0
Another good entry in this series. I wish authors would stop with these generic titles which makes it hard to keep track of which story is which. Spoilers ahead.
The book starts off with two plots:
A young architect is shot in his office. Investigation reveals he has a history. What I don't get is the over reach and the amount of extra work on the flimsiest of hunches, like taking the whole bus stop roof off with grinders when even a casual look shows that no one has stood on it. Do the British police really have that much resources to devote to marginal leads?
Two young adopted children from a rich family have been threatened and finally abducted. Why did the abductor even warn the kids? And why did the police look into the neighbor's history in so much detail? This is another part that doesn't make sense. In both books so far, the police have been so intrusive into anything that has even a very remote connection, such full forensic investigations on people only peripherally associated with the case. Do they have that much time? And it's a wonder people volunteer anything, in fear that they get dragged into such intrusive digging into their lives.
Finally an unknown male is found shot on the beach miles away, and later on they link that with the cases as well.
Anyway, all the leads seem to have Albania in common. The architect and the two children being Albanian refugees. So Craig ends up going to Albania where he finds that centuries old blood feuds are common and that the subjects in the cases all appear to be victims of it. The rest of the book is more of an action book rather than a mystery whodunit book.
The section on Albania is definitely very interesting, from the part history to the culture and geography. Craig is partnered with an Albanian detective sergeant who is very helpful and puts his life on the line to help the case. And as usual, the characters and their interactions with each other is what I like about this book. The plot line that linked everyone together was also good.
The book starts off with two plots:
A young architect is shot in his office. Investigation reveals he has a history. What I don't get is the over reach and the amount of extra work on the flimsiest of hunches, like taking the whole bus stop roof off with grinders when even a casual look shows that no one has stood on it. Do the British police really have that much resources to devote to marginal leads?
Two young adopted children from a rich family have been threatened and finally abducted. Why did the abductor even warn the kids? And why did the police look into the neighbor's history in so much detail? This is another part that doesn't make sense. In both books so far, the police have been so intrusive into anything that has even a very remote connection, such full forensic investigations on people only peripherally associated with the case. Do they have that much time? And it's a wonder people volunteer anything, in fear that they get dragged into such intrusive digging into their lives.
Finally an unknown male is found shot on the beach miles away, and later on they link that with the cases as well.
Anyway, all the leads seem to have Albania in common. The architect and the two children being Albanian refugees. So Craig ends up going to Albania where he finds that centuries old blood feuds are common and that the subjects in the cases all appear to be victims of it. The rest of the book is more of an action book rather than a mystery whodunit book.
The section on Albania is definitely very interesting, from the part history to the culture and geography. Craig is partnered with an Albanian detective sergeant who is very helpful and puts his life on the line to help the case. And as usual, the characters and their interactions with each other is what I like about this book. The plot line that linked everyone together was also good.
samanthajayne_x's review
2.0
I hoped I would like this it sounded interesting and good but I am very sad to say I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. For the life of me, I could not get into this story. I had read Body On the Marsh which was the first book in this series but I struggled massively to get into that. I thought this one I might be able to get a little more into it. And I did more so than the first but not by much.
The story was very fast paced and written very well, the story was gripping at terms but I couldn't connect with the character I struggled to like him at times. I believe that was a big problem with this book for me no matter how good the plot is if I can't connect with a character the book just isn't good for me. That was the case for this book, great plot and very gripping most of the time but the main character I just couldn't like.
I also felt like at times there was an unnecessary amount of description and that just got kind of boring to read. But yeah despite those things I still managed to enjoy this book at least a little bit. I appreciated it to some extent and because it was still hooking especially that epilogue though.
The story was very fast paced and written very well, the story was gripping at terms but I couldn't connect with the character I struggled to like him at times. I believe that was a big problem with this book for me no matter how good the plot is if I can't connect with a character the book just isn't good for me. That was the case for this book, great plot and very gripping most of the time but the main character I just couldn't like.
I also felt like at times there was an unnecessary amount of description and that just got kind of boring to read. But yeah despite those things I still managed to enjoy this book at least a little bit. I appreciated it to some extent and because it was still hooking especially that epilogue though.
beckylouise2904's review against another edition
4.0
Very good, much like the first, a page-turning crime thriller.
ciska's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-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
4.5
There's a lot of bodies. There are kids involved in crime. Very exciting but bloody story.
lucyp747d4's review
5.0
A well written, fast paced and action packed story! A great sequel to the first and I look forward to many more adventures with DCI Gillard
annc's review
5.0
Late to the party on this one. I’d not previously read any of Nick Louth’s books but that’s soon to be rectified. This is a cracking good read. Set in London and Albania it starts off as a familiar murder who done it but quickly becomes much much more. I knew nothing about Albanian customs so found it fascinating. A brilliant read I’m now off to buy the first one in the series and looking forward to more to come. You know you’re going to enjoy a series when you set up a collection in your Kindle for them
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