Reviews

The Firemaker by Peter May

testaroscia's review against another edition

3.0

After the Lewis trilogy that mixed atmospheric background with a strong plot, this was all "thriller" and all cards on the table exposure and lacked the Nuances i felt made the Lewis books so good.

esmith11's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lkriv25's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Minor: Suicide and Sexual assault

nottherae's review against another edition

5.0

This...was one of the best books I've read recently.

nekreader's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book, but not nearly as much as the books set in Scotland or the Enzo series. I had a hard time getting going with this novel. It seemed to take a long time to get to anything interesting. I appreciated the descriptions of Beijing, but found Margaret unsympathetic. This wouldn’t be my first recommendation for a Peter May book.

motherjuggler's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sandymarcynuk's review against another edition

1.0

I just finished the Lewis trilogy, gave it 5 stars and had high expectations for this book. My first impressions of this book are so influenced by the very unlikable main character I couldn't get through the first few chapters. I cannot get past the very unlikely scenario of an eminent university professor not reading a package of material before arriving to a new country and a new job. Not only is this character unprepared but simple and very obvious etiquette and politeness have stereotyped this American character even more than the the many stereotyping going on for Chinese citizens. I'm out!

tobyyy's review against another edition

4.0

More relationship-building than actual mystery, but I enjoyed May’s writing style and all of the details about Beijing. In a period where I can’t travel due to the pandemic, this book took me out of my little Ohio life and helped me have a vacation from the daily grind here in the American Midwest.

siriuschico's review against another edition

1.0

Tak tuhle audioknihu jsem si moc neužil. Z hlediska zpracování si nemůžu stěžovat. V četbě se střídají Martin Myšička a Jana Plodková podle toho kdo z hlavních hrdinů zrovna vystupuju na scéně. Jediná maličkost, která mí trochu vadila byly rozdíly v hlasech stejných postav čtených mužským nebo ženským hlasem. Ale to byla spíše maličkost, čistě z hlediska kvality četby by si kniha zasloužila 4 hvězdy.

Bohužel co se týka vlastního příběhu je to o dost horší. Hlavní detektivní zápletka je nezajímavá a mírně abstraktivní. Hrdinové se chovají jako puberťáci a jejich neustálé kočkování je velmi otravné. Jedinou vábničkou je rozdilné čínské prostředí, které ale rozhodně není plně využité. Prostě za mě – ruce dál.

jenkittycatfrog's review against another edition

5.0

This book is a great mystery and I enjoyed the cultural insight into China. Really interesting!