Reviews

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine, Ruth Rendell

judesaunders's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

frannieman's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.75

tessyoung's review against another edition

3.0

My first Barbara Vine and my First Audible. Both get the thumbs up. The book is well plotted, really nicely paced, well written and well read. The characters come across really well and this is as much the prose as the delivery. The book tells a story that spans generations and pays close attention to the social mores of the varying time periods, grounding the narrative nicely. There are many strands to the plot but there remains a clarity that respects the reader in terms of not pulling rabbits out of hats, but instead you may guess where stages of the story are going just before they arrive there, but only just. I would invest in reading a Barbara Vine after this.

ellie_reads_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

hoserlauren's review against another edition

3.0

Gerald Candless, renown author, dies of a heart attack leaving behind his wife and two grown daughters. The girls, Sarah and Hope, were very close to their dad as he fostered a special relationship with them at the expense of his wife Ursula. As the family comes to term with the loss, we learn how spoiled the two girls are and how miserable Ursula was with her husband.

When Sarah is approached to write a biography of her dad, she accepts. The first thing she does is start looking in to his past only to find that there's nothing to look in to. Gerald Candless does not exist before a certain date and the Gerald Candless of the town her father claimed as his died as a child. Their father assumed this identity. Why? What was he running from?

This book was difficult to get through for two reasons. First, all the characters are either miserable people or pathetic. The girls are complete snobs and never get what's coming to them. The mom could have helped herself but did nothing. The second reason is because there's a whole bunch of unnecessary filler content. Why do we need to know about Hope and her boyfriend or Sara and her boyfriend? There is no substance there and it doesn't really drive the plot forward.

When we finally find out the reason Gerald left his original life, it's a bit of a let down. We are told throughout the book a few times that this reason is not true only to find out it is. The way it was revealed was sort of interesting, but none of the characters ever really find out which was a let down.

katdid's review against another edition

5.0

Probably her masterpiece although my fave is still A Dark-Adapted Eye. Gerald, Hope, and Sarah: awful people tbh.

Spoiler

I don't even like the fact that maybe Jason will prove to be Sarah's redemption because honestly she doesn't deserve it. Hope, a lost cause; I kept imagining her as looking like a former colleague, easily the most difficult person I've ever worked with. Her thing about hats, so weirdly frumpy. Fabian, who only went to his future father-in-law's funeral because he'd never been to one before: what a catch. Gerald was so vile to everyone bar his daughters that I couldn't see that he was tortured by guilt/pain unless he was just pickled in it. Also if Stefan looked so much like him wouldn't people who knew Gerald -- like his former publisher at Hope's wedding -- have remarked upon it? but that's me picking holes. Hopefully Ursula focuses upon her partner's family and forgets all about her own.

This is exactly the kind of story I like told in a way I like and even though I remembered the main thrust of it from reading it years ago it still holds up and kept me gripped.

ozkat's review against another edition

5.0

Suspected the ending but the book was truly bonkers. In a good way. The suspense was amazing.

amydieg's review against another edition

4.0

I'm not really sure what I expected of this book, but in the end I was pleased. Its reads a little like a family saga, even though it isn't one. The mystery is intriguing but doesn't consume the book. It really was enjoyable to read. My only complaint is that I figured out most of the answers too long before they gave them to me in the book. Sometimes this adds to the suspense but since this isn't a 'high-stakes' mystery (no one's life is really in danger or anything) it just made me sort of annoyed.

ronniewest's review against another edition

3.0

A good book, but quite disturbing. I pretty much guessed all of the details early on (which I assume the author intended), but it's still pretty upsetting.

marilynsaul's review against another edition

1.0

Hated the first chapter, but Ursula was introduced in the second and I felt an affinity to her. But then she became annoying in her acquiescence. And her daughters were just downright annoying all through the book, having had a rather sick relationship with their father, and then always, always the tears!!!! What really irritated me though was that the reader was made privy to all the "clues" in the "mystery", but the characters themselves never caught on - how bizarre!!! A totally predictable ending, and I couldn't WAIT to be done with this horrid book!