Reviews

Before the Poison by Peter Robinson

scruffbucketragamuffin's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

luciearan's review against another edition

4.0

Když jsem po téhle knize sahala, neměla jsem na ni zrovna přehnané nároky, čekala jsem, že se bude jednat o typický příběh strašidelného domu. O to víc mě, ale její děj nakonec překvapil. A to i přes to, že téma druhé světové v knihách skutečně nemám ráda.
Prolínání děje, který se odehrává v současnosti, s výpověďmi pamětníků a flashbacky z deníku Grace, si ale udrží vaší pozornost a působí velice "lidsky", celkovou atmosféru pak doplňuje i forma jazyka užitá v jednotlivých obdobích. A i když kniha nepatří zrovna k nejkratším, čte se skoro sama a jedním dechem.

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

Chris Lowndes buys a large house in rural Yorkshire and later finds out it was the scene of a famous crime. He becomes interested in finding out what happened, but he also has a few unusual experiences that make him think the house might be haunted. The novel is atmospheric and interesting without being at all predictable.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/before-the-poison/

eveak's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted so much to like this book especially since I like the Inspector Banks series. I never quite clicked with it though - I think the story is interesting (similar in some respects to the Josephine Tey's Daughters of Time and Colin Dexter's The Wench is Dead both of which revisit past crimes) but not engaging.

jwoodsum's review against another edition

4.0

Very atmospheric mystery about a grieving widower trying to solve the puzzle of a murder which took place in his new house over 60 years previously.

jmclincoln's review against another edition

2.0

This is a good novella hiding in a burdensome novel. I have read many of Mr Robinson's books and this is not one of his best. (It is winning awards however). The mystery story was buried among minutiae of daily living, not to set a particular scene or historical era. I had to dig the story out which I did by scanning topic sentences. I felt the publisher gave him a page number requirement that he had to fill. Too bad as the mystery was entertaining. When I could find it.

leigh_jo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

yoyoitsflo's review against another edition

3.0

This was a good book, but I feel that as far as mysteries/suspense novels go, it took way too long to get the juicy part of the book. Even then, there was not much of a climax/turning point. It's a good read, but don't be too swept away by the summary. The ultimate reveal was not that big in my opinion.

sandin954's review against another edition

4.0

Just the type of story I love. A Hollywood composer comes back home to the Yorkshire dales after a personal loss and finds himself drawn into trying to find out the details of a notorious crime that was committed in the out of the way country house he purchased. A very well written character driven suspense that had me staying up late to finish.

ngreader's review against another edition

3.0

I loved the mystery. Loved the different twists and turns
Did NOT like the weird romance going on throughout the book as it just detracted from the story as a whole (hence 3 stars instead of 4)