indydriven's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
dlmoldovan's review
4.0
I won this book as part of the First-Reads program on Goodreads. It is the second book in the Starvation Lake series, but I think that you can also read it as a stand alone. I didn't read the first one, and I didn't feel like I was missing anything but I definitely want to pick up the first book in the series though. This was an interesting and fast-paced mystery, with a good cast of characters (even the ones I didn't like), and the author didn't make me cringe when I was reading about hockey (a sport I know nothing about). Very enjoyable read overall.
appalonia's review against another edition
3.0
I was really happy most of the way through this book but was disappointed in the ending. The motive became too convoluted and what I did understand of it didn't make sense. But I like the characters and writing enough to look forward to the next in the series.
lisaarnsdorf's review
3.0
Interesting story! Fun that there's so much Michigan. Complicated story, though. I'm still trying to put all the pieces together. For some reason, the names of the people bugged me a bit. I will definitely read another Gruley.
ncrabb's review
2.0
Gus Carpenter is well known in the rural Michigan community of Starvation Lake. True, he’s the guy who, as a teenager, lost the community its only state hockey championship, but he’s also the guy who solved a years-old murder case. ′See book one in the series.′
His cop girlfriend, Darlene, gets a late-night call that reveals that her lifelong friend, Gracie, has hanged herself in a tree famous in the community for all the hanging shoes nestled in its branches. It was a young and troubled Gracie who started the tradition of hanging your shoe and that of your lover in the top of the tree, and the community’s young people caught onto the idea and kept it going so much so that even tourists to the town would toss their shoes over a branch as an informal way of signing a guest book.
But things don’t add up where Gracie’s suicide is concerned, and Gus Carpenter starts digging. Unfortunately, what he finds is somewhat predictable, but the story will hold your interest to the end. If nothing else, you’ll want to see what happens when Darlene’s husband-on-paper comes back to town to try to win her back from Gus.
His cop girlfriend, Darlene, gets a late-night call that reveals that her lifelong friend, Gracie, has hanged herself in a tree famous in the community for all the hanging shoes nestled in its branches. It was a young and troubled Gracie who started the tradition of hanging your shoe and that of your lover in the top of the tree, and the community’s young people caught onto the idea and kept it going so much so that even tourists to the town would toss their shoes over a branch as an informal way of signing a guest book.
But things don’t add up where Gracie’s suicide is concerned, and Gus Carpenter starts digging. Unfortunately, what he finds is somewhat predictable, but the story will hold your interest to the end. If nothing else, you’ll want to see what happens when Darlene’s husband-on-paper comes back to town to try to win her back from Gus.
gawronma's review
4.0
A wonderful follow-up to Gruley's debut novel. The characters and town feel so very real. The towns people could be your neighbors. Never thought I would enjoy mystery the surrounds the building of hockey rink.
literaryfeline's review
http://www.literaryfeline.com/2011/02/review-hanging-tree-by-bryan-gruley.html
brightside878's review
4.0
(3.5-4). Not as awesome as the first one, but still good, and I will definately read the next one, if there is one.
imalwayswrite's review
4.0
Bryan Gruley’s second novel and sequel to Starvation Lake does not disappoint. The plot is better developed and the ending not as forced as in the first story. Many of the characters are the same, though The Hanging Tree works well as a stand-alone novel. Again, the setting is Starvation Lake, a small town in northern Michigan, and the community has been plagued by an apparent suicide. The deceased is related to protagonist and reporter for the local newspaper, Gus Carpenter, who investigates the events of Gracie McBride’s life to discover what led her to kill herself, or to determine if it was murder. Gus is a likeable character, though not a perfect one. He’s something of an anti-hero and many of the town’s citizens still blame him for letting in the overtime goal that cost the local kids’ hockey team a state championship title -- even though that game took place 20 years before. Readers who have ever failed at anything, or felt as though they failed, can relate.
tien's review
4.0
Gus Carpenter has settled into his life back in his home town. Some townspeople have not forgiven him for losing that hockey match back in his youth. And some, even now, are disparaging him for the news he printed. This still does not deter him to follow his nose to the truth even if it means he may lose everything he has left.
I had a question left after I finished reading the first book and it was partially answered in this book. It was the prologue of the first book and I'm thinking it should be fully resolved in 3rd book? I hope so because I'm not keen on this dragging out too long ;p Otherwise, completely engaging mystery, cleverly woven with enough complexity highlighting just how dark a person can be and yet, the truth usually lies beneath the surface.
I had a question left after I finished reading the first book and it was partially answered in this book. It was the prologue of the first book and I'm thinking it should be fully resolved in 3rd book? I hope so because I'm not keen on this dragging out too long ;p Otherwise, completely engaging mystery, cleverly woven with enough complexity highlighting just how dark a person can be and yet, the truth usually lies beneath the surface.