Reviews

The Last Voice You Hear by Mick Herron

adrianjd's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

First half nearly had me DNF this book but it picked up well in the second half.  Tight prose, witty, just a bit too introspective for me to start.  When the story kicked in proper it went well and saved a twist for the end which I did.l not see coming

pannapark's review against another edition

5.0

The Last Voice You Hear primarily features Zoe Boehm, now solo, working through some difficult personal issues and smoking non-stop while flicking little paper balls at random objects.
Zoe is waiting for an ‘appointment’ and this sets up an angst filled inner dialogue and a tendency to lurch towards things then change direction seemingly on a whim. While riding a train (non-smoking) to London, she intermittently listens to the news through her ear buds and hears that a twelve year old has been found dead on a London housing estate. This random snatch of news eventually throws up a memory of a brief encounter Zoe had with two young robbers three years ago in which she basically told one of them to f off! And the plot is off and running.
Mick Herron serves up another delicious slow burn of a read turning up the heat as the plot races to the end. I really enjoyed this intense second serving of The Oxford Investigations and will read on!

vandermeer's review against another edition

1.0

Es ist ok, aber ich mag die Protagonistin nicht wirklich, was nicht immer ein Problem sein muss, es hier aber ist.

techxplorer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

jmclincoln's review against another edition

4.0

Tight. Very, very tight. Thank you, Mr. Herron, for entertaining the reader once again. Every word is precisely chosen. Do not think you can get by just reading topic sentences and skipping paragraphs as we can with most current writers. If you try this with Mr. Herron’s novels, you will be lost in the wilderness.

sandin954's review against another edition

5.0

Another great read from this author. While the plot was pretty low on the plausibility scale I thought the writing was excellent and the characterizations spot on. The pace of the book was quick and the last quarter of the book was very intense.

cybergoths's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

didactylos's review against another edition

4.0

Read at a pace which says a lot about the plotting of this, clever.

caroparr's review against another edition

3.0

The second in Herron's Oxford series features Zoë, after Sarah took center stage in the last book, and it's a treat to be with her. Except that she agonizes over everything, over and over, and it takes 200 pages before the suspense ratchets up. By the time he wrote the most excellent Slough House books, Herron had learned to cut to the chase and to show not tell, and the books are better for it. But I'd like to see Zoë and Sarah again, so I'll continue.

tbsims's review against another edition

2.0

I understand when the protagonist is in danger as they investigate, but when they become the victim...I soon lose interest. In series, they seem to start with an interesting story line of investigation and an interesting own-life, and eventually they seem perfectly merged. I'm investigating a crime where I'm the victim.