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krash9924's review against another edition
3.0
Closer to 3.5, just a filler type of novel to get us from point A to B. Some good stuff but overall just misses the high-marks set by the rest of the series.
kilgorewolfe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ellanasan's review against another edition
1.0
Unpopular opinion probably but the more time passes the less I'm liking this series. To be expected I guess but not enough Veronica in this book, I want to read about Newburry AND Hobbes and for several books now they haven't been doing much investigating together. Newburry has turned into a cliché James Bond complete with the large amount of women around him. The plots are cheap, don't get me started on that deus ex machina regarding Amelia... We didn't get much farther on the general arc either...
I guess I'm done with this series, unfortunately.
I guess I'm done with this series, unfortunately.
michaelrswanson's review against another edition
4.0
Another fast-paced adventure, George Mann does not disappoint. Hopefully the next installment will arrive sooner than its Aug. 2021 release date.
debrasbookcafe's review against another edition
4.0
George Mann is a relatively new author to me who is fast becoming a favourite. In 2018 I read and loved his Wychwood duology (duology at the moment but I hope there may be more...…) and I was really excited to pick up another one of his books.
I will start by saying that I have not read the previous books in this series and, to be honest, I wish I had and that is something I am certainly going to remedy when I get my hands on the previous books. Although this is one of those books that you absolutely can pick up as a stand alone away from the series, I had the feeling that there was something I was missing in the background of the characters, which I would pick up easily had I read the previous books.
The above said, I enjoyed the mystery in this novel, the whodoneit element is an element in a novel that I particularly enjoy so that was a huge part of why I thoroughly enjoyed this. For it, it also had an element of comedy in parts, especially nearer the beginning of the novel where Sir Maurice is on a train with a lady (who I won't identify as I am not sure whether that is a spoiler for previous books or not) and there is someone at the door wanting to come in thinking there is a serious problem but the problem Sir Maurice has is that there is a dead body in his room. The way that scene was handled and what they did made me giggle.
A really enjoyable whodoneit mystery that I am looking forward to picking up more and learning more about this world.
For more reviews, please check out the link below:
Debra's Book Cafe
Debs :-)
I will start by saying that I have not read the previous books in this series and, to be honest, I wish I had and that is something I am certainly going to remedy when I get my hands on the previous books. Although this is one of those books that you absolutely can pick up as a stand alone away from the series, I had the feeling that there was something I was missing in the background of the characters, which I would pick up easily had I read the previous books.
The above said, I enjoyed the mystery in this novel, the whodoneit element is an element in a novel that I particularly enjoy so that was a huge part of why I thoroughly enjoyed this. For it, it also had an element of comedy in parts, especially nearer the beginning of the novel where Sir Maurice is on a train with a lady (who I won't identify as I am not sure whether that is a spoiler for previous books or not) and there is someone at the door wanting to come in thinking there is a serious problem but the problem Sir Maurice has is that there is a dead body in his room. The way that scene was handled and what they did made me giggle.
A really enjoyable whodoneit mystery that I am looking forward to picking up more and learning more about this world.
For more reviews, please check out the link below:
Debra's Book Cafe
Debs :-)
eri's review against another edition
3.0
Welp. Some of you may or may not know but I recently upped my Affinity Bridge rating from 3 stars to 4 stars. This one actually should be 2 stars but I’m in a particularly good mood.
Things that I liked:
Mann’s writing has improved immensely. His dialogue always felt really campy and well... stupid. But this time around I felt natural progression and interesting exchanges.
Nothing felt unnecessary. Something else I’ve noticed is that Mann is much better at writing short stories, and when it comes to novels it feels drawn out. This one everything was straight to the point, but also not fleshed out enough. The story is only 250 pages and it went way too fast.
That being said I really can’t get over how much better his writing has gotten. Like it’s amazing.
Things I thought were okay:
Characters. It’s no secret that Mann doesn’t have the best characters, but they did improve. I never liked Newbury, I thought he was pathetic, but here he was so determined and actually useful that I was impressed.
I actually liked Bainbridge for the first time as well. I sort of considered him a bit useless but he actually had something to do. And he actually had a fleshed out personality
Amelia is a boring character. I’m sorry but I don’t like her. Her only purpose is to be a soft spot for Veronica and when she’s given an actual role well, it falls apart. I liked it when she only had like two or three lines. She was always a plot device to me rather than a fully realized character. And here it shows.
Now onto the character I always said was my favorite: Veronica. Forgettable. She didn’t do much in her parts, barely said anything. Disappointing because it always felt like Mann had something for her to do. Also, I want to know more about her. She still has no backstory or anything. She’s well... lame in this.
Things that I didn’t like:
The mystery I solved in two seconds. Mann isn’t the best mystery writer. If you want twists and turns then this isn’t the place to go. I hate whodunnits personally, so I normally don’t mind. But I was like come ON. There was literally only one suspect. He did try to add a red herring, but it was so obvious that it wasn’t them. And there was only one red herring. Aren’t there normally... more? On the Veronica side, it was the kind of mystery I prefer, where we solve the case along with the detectives. BUT they did not mix well. A closed circle mystery only works if there’s multiple suspects. More on this on down.
The setting. We were on a goddamn train the whole time. I know it was based off of Murder on the Orient Express, but I hate that book so I felt claustrophobic here. I will credit Christie, she used the closed circle mystery to her advantage. She gave everyone a motive, and had multiple suspects. That doesn’t happen here. But luckily we switched back and forth between the train and then London of the past. Which brings me to here.
The story is so disjointed this time around. We are constantly shifting perspectives with no real warning. I felt dizzy. Parallel mysteries only work if they’re actually parallel, they were not here.
THE FUCKING VILLAIN IS SO FUCKING STUPID OMG! Yes I’m talking about them again. They suck. Their motives were so stupid and when they died, and I read that sentence (you all know what I mean) I rolled my eyes so hard that I saw the Buddha himself. Easily my least favorite villain in this series, and that’s saying something because all of them save for maybe the executioner sucked.
Conflict was resolved through punching, which is the worst way to resolve conflict. Imo it should come down to characters and then fighting. Not just fighting. Everything was rushed at the end. Just why?
Overall:
It’s fun, but it’s like all the other N&H books. They’re fun but they lack something. The characters are lacking, the plots are thin, at the end there’s always some long over the top action sequence that I skip. But I know what Mann writes is punchy action, it’s not supposed to be some sort of character driven, plot heavy mystery. It’s fluff. He just wants you to have a good time, and I respect that. It’s better than pretentious drivel I’ve sat through before.
I am excited for the next one. Hopefully it doesn’t take another five years to release. Even if it does I hope that it’s longer. I feel a little bad for everyone who read Executioners Heart way back when and got reintroduced to the series like this. This book was weak and very short. I was hoping for a big comeback. This was very lukewarm.
3/5 I still did enjoy it and I am excited for the graphic novel next month. As for the books The Immorality Engine is still the best one in the series.
Things that I liked:
Mann’s writing has improved immensely. His dialogue always felt really campy and well... stupid. But this time around I felt natural progression and interesting exchanges.
Nothing felt unnecessary. Something else I’ve noticed is that Mann is much better at writing short stories, and when it comes to novels it feels drawn out. This one everything was straight to the point, but also not fleshed out enough. The story is only 250 pages and it went way too fast.
That being said I really can’t get over how much better his writing has gotten. Like it’s amazing.
Things I thought were okay:
Characters. It’s no secret that Mann doesn’t have the best characters, but they did improve. I never liked Newbury, I thought he was pathetic, but here he was so determined and actually useful that I was impressed.
I actually liked Bainbridge for the first time as well. I sort of considered him a bit useless but he actually had something to do. And he actually had a fleshed out personality
Amelia is a boring character. I’m sorry but I don’t like her. Her only purpose is to be a soft spot for Veronica and when she’s given an actual role well, it falls apart. I liked it when she only had like two or three lines. She was always a plot device to me rather than a fully realized character. And here it shows.
Now onto the character I always said was my favorite: Veronica. Forgettable. She didn’t do much in her parts, barely said anything. Disappointing because it always felt like Mann had something for her to do. Also, I want to know more about her. She still has no backstory or anything. She’s well... lame in this.
Things that I didn’t like:
The mystery I solved in two seconds. Mann isn’t the best mystery writer. If you want twists and turns then this isn’t the place to go. I hate whodunnits personally, so I normally don’t mind. But I was like come ON. There was literally only one suspect. He did try to add a red herring, but it was so obvious that it wasn’t them. And there was only one red herring. Aren’t there normally... more? On the Veronica side, it was the kind of mystery I prefer, where we solve the case along with the detectives. BUT they did not mix well. A closed circle mystery only works if there’s multiple suspects. More on this on down.
The setting. We were on a goddamn train the whole time. I know it was based off of Murder on the Orient Express, but I hate that book so I felt claustrophobic here. I will credit Christie, she used the closed circle mystery to her advantage. She gave everyone a motive, and had multiple suspects. That doesn’t happen here. But luckily we switched back and forth between the train and then London of the past. Which brings me to here.
The story is so disjointed this time around. We are constantly shifting perspectives with no real warning. I felt dizzy. Parallel mysteries only work if they’re actually parallel, they were not here.
THE FUCKING VILLAIN IS SO FUCKING STUPID OMG! Yes I’m talking about them again. They suck. Their motives were so stupid and when they died, and I read that sentence (you all know what I mean) I rolled my eyes so hard that I saw the Buddha himself. Easily my least favorite villain in this series, and that’s saying something because all of them save for maybe the executioner sucked.
Conflict was resolved through punching, which is the worst way to resolve conflict. Imo it should come down to characters and then fighting. Not just fighting. Everything was rushed at the end. Just why?
Overall:
It’s fun, but it’s like all the other N&H books. They’re fun but they lack something. The characters are lacking, the plots are thin, at the end there’s always some long over the top action sequence that I skip. But I know what Mann writes is punchy action, it’s not supposed to be some sort of character driven, plot heavy mystery. It’s fluff. He just wants you to have a good time, and I respect that. It’s better than pretentious drivel I’ve sat through before.
I am excited for the next one. Hopefully it doesn’t take another five years to release. Even if it does I hope that it’s longer. I feel a little bad for everyone who read Executioners Heart way back when and got reintroduced to the series like this. This book was weak and very short. I was hoping for a big comeback. This was very lukewarm.
3/5 I still did enjoy it and I am excited for the graphic novel next month. As for the books The Immorality Engine is still the best one in the series.
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