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laschipa's review against another edition
2.0
This started out strong but wandered off the mark for me. The various backstories of possible suspects gave a lot of flavour to the characters but not a lot of connect to the main mystery of who killed the one tenant that everyone hated. It felt like the author was writing a tv series, fleshing out secondary and even tertiary character arcs to fill hours of running time. I'm surprised I finished it.
SPOILERS!!!
And in finishing it, it was not satisfying at all. At no point did we get the backstory of the actual murderer (his wife, whom I easily suspected from the beginning). We get only the subtle hints in the text that might have worked in a visual medium, like tv where an actor could show us more of what was going on there. This wasn't enough to really make this compelling. I skimmed much of the book after about the halfway point, just trying to glean the important bits so I can get to the end. I do not like to read this way, hence my disappointment.
I suppose if you like a long, drawn out, meandering story about a bunch of random people who happen to live in the same building in the West End of Glasgow, then you might enjoy this one. But if you're interested in the slow unfolding of even a slightly complex mystery, this is not the book for you.
SPOILERS!!!
And in finishing it, it was not satisfying at all. At no point did we get the backstory of the actual murderer (his wife, whom I easily suspected from the beginning). We get only the subtle hints in the text that might have worked in a visual medium, like tv where an actor could show us more of what was going on there. This wasn't enough to really make this compelling. I skimmed much of the book after about the halfway point, just trying to glean the important bits so I can get to the end. I do not like to read this way, hence my disappointment.
I suppose if you like a long, drawn out, meandering story about a bunch of random people who happen to live in the same building in the West End of Glasgow, then you might enjoy this one. But if you're interested in the slow unfolding of even a slightly complex mystery, this is not the book for you.
cbt00004's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Not a typical murder mystery as I expected but a fantastic book. Really enjoyable read, became deeply invested in the character’s lives and the close’s story.
alisonannk's review
5.0
This book falls into the rare category of laugh out loud funny - particularly if you have ever lived in, or know people from, Glasgow.
The characters are so realistic and I could visualise people who they were similar to in my own life. Bain is a horrible man who has made the lives of those around him a misery for decades. With each story he becomes more abhorrent. There are many serious parts too which gives it depth.
The writing techniques, including letters between the tenants, lawyers and so on make it even more interesting. I am very pleased my local Waterstones had this on a separate display table and drew my attention to it!
The characters are so realistic and I could visualise people who they were similar to in my own life. Bain is a horrible man who has made the lives of those around him a misery for decades. With each story he becomes more abhorrent. There are many serious parts too which gives it depth.
The writing techniques, including letters between the tenants, lawyers and so on make it even more interesting. I am very pleased my local Waterstones had this on a separate display table and drew my attention to it!
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