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jdhobbes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mcipher's review
5.0
I don’t know if I’m getting more generous with my 5-star reviews or just more in love with this series, but either way... this is an amazing book. Sad and lovely and weird and full of sentences I had to re-read because they were so true and heartbreaking. Claire’s beloved Silette’s style of detection is fascinating and magical and I wish that his book really existed. I hope there are more books to come - I feel like, as crazy and deep as each one is, there’s so much more to dig into here. Sara Gran is an amazing writer and this is a killer series.
btmarino84's review
I adore the strange style these books are written in, where dreams are as important clues as forensics.
Probably the best part of this was a long, bizarre riff on Nancy Drew that turns those books into a punky, twisted parable meditating on identity and need. The ending clearly sets up that Claire's story is not done and I am always eager for more.
Probably the best part of this was a long, bizarre riff on Nancy Drew that turns those books into a punky, twisted parable meditating on identity and need. The ending clearly sets up that Claire's story is not done and I am always eager for more.
stacialithub's review
3.0
This is book #3 in the Claire DeWitt mystery series, though this is the first time I had heard of it.
Totally enjoyed it. It's kind-of a mix of an homage to fictional female teen detectives (Nancy Drew, Scooby Doo; for this particular novel, it's a fictional comic book series) & the reality of life that things are not rosy, life is hard & usually a disappointment, most people don't care, etc. (classic noir styling, imo). And here you have Claire DeWitt, inspired by the fictional detectives when she was young, becoming a private detective in real life. A PI in a hard, dark world. Cynical & jaded, yet she's always focused on the mystery itself. It's modern noir with just the barest hint of nostalgia seeping in. Recommended.
(If you like neat, tidy endings with clear answers, this book may not be for you.)
Totally enjoyed it. It's kind-of a mix of an homage to fictional female teen detectives (Nancy Drew, Scooby Doo; for this particular novel, it's a fictional comic book series) & the reality of life that things are not rosy, life is hard & usually a disappointment, most people don't care, etc. (classic noir styling, imo). And here you have Claire DeWitt, inspired by the fictional detectives when she was young, becoming a private detective in real life. A PI in a hard, dark world. Cynical & jaded, yet she's always focused on the mystery itself. It's modern noir with just the barest hint of nostalgia seeping in. Recommended.
(If you like neat, tidy endings with clear answers, this book may not be for you.)
frasersimons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am always tickled by the tone and dry, witty humour in these books. Also, what answers we end up being given in the meta context are poignant and feel more interesting than the typical formula being applied. The mystery being the central figure, and who they think they are, combatting the notion of personal truth and selfhood, thereby revealing surrounding mysteries—just fantastic stuff. More flashbacks to the past too, which isn’t my absolute favourite aspect, but works better than more inserts of these almost duel narratives.
It cannot be read before the others, nor, if you weren’t sold on other instalments, will there be something “else” here for you. It is a good ending; an accomplishment in itself.
It cannot be read before the others, nor, if you weren’t sold on other instalments, will there be something “else” here for you. It is a good ending; an accomplishment in itself.
triflesandvanities's review
3.0
My most anticipated release of last year because I love the first two books so much. Unfortunately this book fell really flat for me. The intermingling narratives complicated the story and made it grueling to get through. It would have been worth it for a more impactful ending but in the end the narratives lead to a conclusion summarized in two sentences. Definitely not worth it.
Left this book feeling like I read a bunch of filler setting up the next in the series. Hope that the next book is faster paced and focuses on what made the first two books in the series so special.
Left this book feeling like I read a bunch of filler setting up the next in the series. Hope that the next book is faster paced and focuses on what made the first two books in the series so special.
vanessakm's review
4.0
I thought about how much I wanted to enjoy the sunshine and the hummingbirds and the flowers. Enjoying life as it unfolded was always hard. Since Constance died it seemed physically impossible. It was all just a long, infinite blacktop of things you'd regret not enjoying later.
This is the third and I hope not the last Claire DeWitt novel from the beautiful, esoteric mind of Sara Gran and it's been a joy to watch her writing evolve over the course of this trilogy. And while on the surface, these books are mysteries, they are really about heartbreak and connection. Redemption and resilience. Metaphysics and breaking the nose of some louse who takes credit for your work.
This book picks up right at the end of the second one. Claire DeWitt, the world's both greatest and most idiosyncratic detective, awakes banged up as hell from a hit and run that she's sure is a murder attempt. Who and why are the questions along with what will Claire do instead of going to the hospital, which is walk off with a concussion, possible broken bones, and a cop's taser. A stolen car and a handful of illegal stimulants later, Claire is out to solve the mystery of who is trying to kill her, which she is sure is connected to the greatest mystery of her life: what happened to her childhood friend Tracy, the girl who could have been the world's greatest detective.
Poor Claire has had so much pain in her life. Tracy, her mentor Constance murdered in a random mugging, investigating the homicide of the man who was probably her true love in the last book.
"I'm fucking up everything. Everything I've done has been a mistake."
"Yes...Probably. That's what it means to be a person. It means you make horrible decisions, and you fuck everything up. It means you love people, and they leave. It means sometimes no one loves you at all. That's the state of like 90 percent of humanity at any given moment. You don't need to make a religion out of it. You don't need to memorialize everything that hurts. Everything changes, and half of finding peace in life is to stop resisting it. Someone who loved you yesterday doesn't love you today. Someone you loved is gone now."
So, not to get too personal but as I read this I was flying across the country to attend what would soon be a family member's funeral and help another family member with a breakthrough Covid infection they caught while staying with them in the hospital (I'm fine, everybody is fine. Thank you science for the booster shot and monoclonal antibodies.) I sincerely love Sara Gran and the universe (and the Columbus Public Library) for sending me these words right when I needed them.
But, sometimes, a crab did get out. Change was possible. At least for crabs. Maybe for me. I saw one escape from the barrel, sidle all the way across the pier, clicking his claws on the wood all the way, and jump back into the giant, dark, mysterious ocean, where life was harder, but the rewards, on some dim foggy mornings, at least for a few minutes, at least sometimes, were worth it.
I hope all is well in your world, friends.
This is the third and I hope not the last Claire DeWitt novel from the beautiful, esoteric mind of Sara Gran and it's been a joy to watch her writing evolve over the course of this trilogy. And while on the surface, these books are mysteries, they are really about heartbreak and connection. Redemption and resilience. Metaphysics and breaking the nose of some louse who takes credit for your work.
This book picks up right at the end of the second one. Claire DeWitt, the world's both greatest and most idiosyncratic detective, awakes banged up as hell from a hit and run that she's sure is a murder attempt. Who and why are the questions along with what will Claire do instead of going to the hospital, which is walk off with a concussion, possible broken bones, and a cop's taser. A stolen car and a handful of illegal stimulants later, Claire is out to solve the mystery of who is trying to kill her, which she is sure is connected to the greatest mystery of her life: what happened to her childhood friend Tracy, the girl who could have been the world's greatest detective.
Poor Claire has had so much pain in her life. Tracy, her mentor Constance murdered in a random mugging, investigating the homicide of the man who was probably her true love in the last book.
"I'm fucking up everything. Everything I've done has been a mistake."
"Yes...Probably. That's what it means to be a person. It means you make horrible decisions, and you fuck everything up. It means you love people, and they leave. It means sometimes no one loves you at all. That's the state of like 90 percent of humanity at any given moment. You don't need to make a religion out of it. You don't need to memorialize everything that hurts. Everything changes, and half of finding peace in life is to stop resisting it. Someone who loved you yesterday doesn't love you today. Someone you loved is gone now."
So, not to get too personal but as I read this I was flying across the country to attend what would soon be a family member's funeral and help another family member with a breakthrough Covid infection they caught while staying with them in the hospital (I'm fine, everybody is fine. Thank you science for the booster shot and monoclonal antibodies.) I sincerely love Sara Gran and the universe (and the Columbus Public Library) for sending me these words right when I needed them.
But, sometimes, a crab did get out. Change was possible. At least for crabs. Maybe for me. I saw one escape from the barrel, sidle all the way across the pier, clicking his claws on the wood all the way, and jump back into the giant, dark, mysterious ocean, where life was harder, but the rewards, on some dim foggy mornings, at least for a few minutes, at least sometimes, were worth it.
I hope all is well in your world, friends.