Well after the disaster that was "V for Vengeance" it was good to have Kinsey back to her normal self.
I'm torn between rating this three or four starsWell after the disaster that was "V for Vengeance" it was good to have Kinsey back to her normal self.
I'm torn between rating this three or four stars, because it really was an engaging story, but there was quite a bit of filler. There was only one other third person point of view in this book, which was much better than having three or four, and I was actually quite interested in those sections, however what was learnt in those was repeated again later on in the book, obviously Kinsey didn't know those details, but the reader did. I guess I'd give the book 3.5 stars if .5 stars were allowed.
I will say I always enjoy reading about Kinsey's long-lost family and this book didn't disappoint there....more
**spoiler alert** OK, so this is a tough one to rate...so... I didn't. I also didn't actually reading the whole book, although I did skip here and the**spoiler alert** OK, so this is a tough one to rate...so... I didn't. I also didn't actually reading the whole book, although I did skip here and there to the end to find out what happened.
So the thing with this book is, I actually enjoy Sue Grafton's WAY of writing, I love a whole lot of detail and following Kinsey around on her adventures. The plot of this book was intriguing at first, but then Nora goes and makes a decision that is just too messed up.
I actually had trouble reading past the first chapter, I actually had to leave it for like a week, maybe I'm too soft, but I pitied Phillip so much, he really was just a kid. Eventually, I got into the book, wondering how Kinsey was going to bring Dante and his family to justice only to discover... I was apparently supposed to feel bad for Dante? Like I did a bit, but the idea the guy who went to all this trouble to set Phillip up somehow didn't account for Cappi's violence and brutality and thought it was fine to leave Phillip alone with him was ridiculous. Figuratively, Cappi might have pulled the trigger, but Dante found, loaded and handed him the gun.
I could probably have got over this and the fact that Nora, Phillip's grieving mother, started having an affair with him, if not only had Dante not got away scotfree, but Nora went with him! Knowing that her son died because of him? Seriously? Maybe if Nora had been written as not giving a shit about her son I could buy this, but she was clearly devastated by his death and at one point it looked like she was going to kick Dante to the curb, only to change her mind at the last second. What the Hell was that?! Not to mention it was kind of weird that I was apparently meant to condemn Nora's husband for cheating on her, but be cool with the idea she'd take up with her son's killer, I'll be honest, one of these is waaay worse than the other. Maybe it was supposed to show the messiness of life and oddness of the human heart, but it fell flat for me.
Beyond that, as others have pointed out it's kind of ridiculous that Kinsey is so outraged by shoplifting, but apparently is cool with Dante and his murders? The bad guys have got away before in this series... but none with Kinsey's absolute blessing! She even takes Dante's money in the end!
Perhaps the trouble with the book was the alternating POVs, when that first showed up in the books it was refreshing and in "T is for Trespass" was used to great affect, but in this particular title it just took away from the mystery of the story, since it wasn't actually a mystery - we knew who killed Phillip and Audrey. And it was pretty easy to figure out where Nora fit in even before she mentioned her son had died... Previously, the alternating points of view have kept up the mystery, adding layers, it certainly didn't this time.
I took a quick look and apparently the next book "W is for Wasted" doesn't have alternating POV so I'm prepared to give it a go.
It's always fun to catch up with JB Fletcher and this was a very interesting story line with two murders separated by 25 years.
Although, the synopsis It's always fun to catch up with JB Fletcher and this was a very interesting story line with two murders separated by 25 years.
Although, the synopsis didn't quite match the actual plot of the book which was odd! Also there was a bit of timeline confusion and the use of the wrong name in a later chapter, but still an enjoyable read....more
It took me a while to read this book not because I didn't enjoy it but because I kept getting distracted by other books!
Anyway, it was really cool beeIt took me a while to read this book not because I didn't enjoy it but because I kept getting distracted by other books!
Anyway, it was really cool been able to get this in depth look into Alan Rickman through his diaries. He certainly had an interesting life with lots of travelling and it was interesting to read about his acting process and the various roles he played through the years.
It would have been nice to see more of the actual diary pages since I had no idea he was such a talented artist....more
**spoiler alert** I'm not actually sure how many stars to give this one!
The writing was, as ever, really engaging I enjoy Sue Grafton's attention to **spoiler alert** I'm not actually sure how many stars to give this one!
The writing was, as ever, really engaging I enjoy Sue Grafton's attention to detail and the descriptions she gives. It really brings the story alive.
On the other hand it does tend to move the plot slowly and at one point 50 pages or so from the end I had to peek at the Epilogue just to see what happened so I could get to bed. Which is weird since I already knew who the killers were at that point.
The other reason I'm not sure how many stars to give this is because the story really bummed me out. Which I guess isn't unusual for a story about murder, but I just ended up feeling bad for just about everyone in the story especially Michael, the fact he ended up dead was a huge blow, although I'm not sure why, the strength of Sue Grafton's characterisation of him, I guess. At least there's Kinsey who always lands on her feet.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series though....more
**spoiler alert** This review might be a bit unfair because I was nearly half way through when curiosity got the better of me and I peeked at the end!**spoiler alert** This review might be a bit unfair because I was nearly half way through when curiosity got the better of me and I peeked at the end!
The multiple POVs this time were interesting since it let us get a much deeper look at the suspects and witnesses.
On the other hand this particular case just depressed me, like apart from two characters everyone directly involved was an asshole. Which I guess makes sense considering the crime, but it bummed me out.
Also I kind of sped read the rest of the book but how exactly the crime was committed confused me...why did Violet go and meet the killer in the first place? Or did he pretend to have car trouble or something? It seemed this was never answered.
And why did the killer give her the dog? He wasn't the same guy who's dog killed Violet's first dog so what was the deal there?
I may have to give it a reread at some point to figure that out.
Still I'm looking forward to reading "T for Trespass!"...more
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