A review by mrsbooknerd
Cage of Bones by Tania Carver
2.0
This wasn't my favourite Tania Carver novel, despite having an interesting plot and progression for the series characters. There was something repetitive and frustrating about some elements of the book, and yet other elements really kept my interest.
I really like the characters in this series, they have personality and they are all well-developed. Even the unlikable are 'likeable' because they are well-written. I loved seeing the impact of this investigation on poor old Phil, and seeing him unravelling professionally and personally. He isn't the traditional he-man, works-alone, genius type of crime detective and I find him refreshing. His team are actually a team and not a series of groupies that follow him around as he leaps from deduction to conclusion.
What I really love about Tania Carver novels is that the characters aren't protected. If one of them needs to suffer or die for the story then they will suffer or die. It is very 'Game of Thrones', you never know which one will be next. There is none of this hero-defies-all writing and it really ramps up the tension because you genuinely don't know what will happen.
There were some elements that I didn't enjoy and for me they undermined the plot and made it feel a bit weaker than others in the series.
I actually found this element really frustrating because it was so ridiculously repetitive and obvious that he was the 'Lawmaker'. He wasn't at all subtle about leading the investigation where he wanted it, and most of the other characters were suspicious, and yet he was supposedly this criminal mastermind whose identity had remained hidden for so long…
I was more surprised by Mickey's fling being one of the four-horseman of the apocalypse, rather than just a suspicious slightly-involved character, than I was about Glass.
Overall I really love the characters in this series, and I enjoy the combination of professional and personal and the blunt endings to said characters when required. Cage of Bones wasn't my favourite novel in this series, but it was still a good enough read and I look forward to reading the next in the series.
I really like the characters in this series, they have personality and they are all well-developed. Even the unlikable are 'likeable' because they are well-written. I loved seeing the impact of this investigation on poor old Phil, and seeing him unravelling professionally and personally. He isn't the traditional he-man, works-alone, genius type of crime detective and I find him refreshing. His team are actually a team and not a series of groupies that follow him around as he leaps from deduction to conclusion.
What I really love about Tania Carver novels is that the characters aren't protected. If one of them needs to suffer or die for the story then they will suffer or die. It is very 'Game of Thrones', you never know which one will be next. There is none of this hero-defies-all writing and it really ramps up the tension because you genuinely don't know what will happen.
There were some elements that I didn't enjoy and for me they undermined the plot and made it feel a bit weaker than others in the series.
Spoiler
The previous book had included a dodgy Police-chief who twisted investigations to suit his own needs and desires and had an issue with Phil, but got caught out in the end. Yet, he was immediately replaced with another dodgy police-Chief who twisted the investigation, had an issue with Phil and got caught out in the end.I actually found this element really frustrating because it was so ridiculously repetitive and obvious that he was the 'Lawmaker'. He wasn't at all subtle about leading the investigation where he wanted it, and most of the other characters were suspicious, and yet he was supposedly this criminal mastermind whose identity had remained hidden for so long…
I was more surprised by Mickey's fling being one of the four-horseman of the apocalypse, rather than just a suspicious slightly-involved character, than I was about Glass.
Overall I really love the characters in this series, and I enjoy the combination of professional and personal and the blunt endings to said characters when required. Cage of Bones wasn't my favourite novel in this series, but it was still a good enough read and I look forward to reading the next in the series.