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hlogan's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book because my friend is such a fan of the author, but I had a hard time doing so. I didn't find many of the characters relatable - I just can't relate to a protagonist who doesn't care that her mother strangled the life out of an innocent child; and indeed only gets upset when (SPOILER ALERT) she finds out that her mother abused her too as a child....or to an adoptive family who doesn't have any love for her or each other....or her adoptive father (SPOILER ALERT) wanting to sleep with her and indeed doing so at the end. It was all just a little too distasteful for me to enjoy it.
tomhill's review against another edition
4.0
"Perhaps that was why revenge was so satisfying; it worked."
P.D. James is a cut above your average mystery writer. Her prose is wonderful to read, and in her best work it's elegant and literary. I've read the two Cordelia Gray novels, which are excellent, and a couple of Dalgliesh books, which are also very good. Innocent Blood contains all the strongest elements of those more traditional detective stories, but it's different in many ways too. It's even darker and more cynical than the other P.D. James I've read, and delves pretty deep when exploring grief and its ripple effects. There's nothing too graphic depicted here, but there are brief descriptions, like a quick flash of an image on screen, which are unsettling in a different way than long descriptions of violence would be. The book has kind of a sluggish start, and it does drag in some spots, but if you don't mind more leisurely paced crime novels, you can't go wrong with P.D. James.
P.D. James is a cut above your average mystery writer. Her prose is wonderful to read, and in her best work it's elegant and literary. I've read the two Cordelia Gray novels, which are excellent, and a couple of Dalgliesh books, which are also very good. Innocent Blood contains all the strongest elements of those more traditional detective stories, but it's different in many ways too. It's even darker and more cynical than the other P.D. James I've read, and delves pretty deep when exploring grief and its ripple effects. There's nothing too graphic depicted here, but there are brief descriptions, like a quick flash of an image on screen, which are unsettling in a different way than long descriptions of violence would be. The book has kind of a sluggish start, and it does drag in some spots, but if you don't mind more leisurely paced crime novels, you can't go wrong with P.D. James.
liahecht's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
pietan's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I normally liv P. D. James, but this one left me bored and underwhelmed
charlotte_louisee_'s review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
viktoriya's review
2.0
Honestly I didn't like this book. It was...what's the word I am looking for...wordy (if it's possible to say that about a book). The author just kept blabbing on and on and on about nothing.
cailmank's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really did not enjoy this book. The writing felt stuffy and pretensions. Often overly descriptive in a way that, for me, added nothing to the story nor the ambiance. I disliked most of the characters and not in the fun way. I found it very slow as if I was always waiting for something to happen that never did, not in a suspensful way but more "surely something major is going to happen". The ending felt very anticlimactic. I went into this novel expecting a mysterious thriller, that is not what I got. There was little to no suspense or tension. The concept was excellent but the execution, in my opinion, was poor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Suicide, Child abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit and Incest