Reviews

I saw the beginning of the movie and was intrigued-had to find out who did it. Book was quite a page turner and after awhile you begin to figure it out (but you're stil not sure) but I was still shocked at the twist at the end.

clairabella_bookworm's review against another edition

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3.0

I found the first 150 pages quite slow, but then it picked up and I was hooked. Couldn't put it down and really enjoyed the ending.

tlt19's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow, what an interesting story! My only issue was that it was a bit wordy at times and would have been much better and more fast paced if it was edited a little bit.

annac_ffyn's review against another edition

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3.0

Slow to get started (hence it took me two months to read) but the second half was very gripping

rpc_2024's review against another edition

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3.0

I found the initial part of the story interesting with the minute by minute account of the search for a missing 14yr old girl in a small Derbyshire village. However everyone smoked and although maybe most did in 1960, in the book all the characters still smoked in 1998 and are forever drinking tea.
It became very repetitive.
Good premise but spoilt by length and constant tea and cigarettes!

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

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4.0

"In a way, you know, I feel lucky that you're writing this book. So many of us lose people and there's never anything to prove they were ever there except what's in our heads."

I was not expecting the last book on this module to be such a journey, but I am also so glad it was. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for this book, again, because, I think, of its packaging, which has been a frequent stumbling block for me this semester. And while this wasn't by any means my favorite or the best book on this module, it was so well-crafted and so engrossing and such a wonderful combination of all the different aspects and topics we've looked at in crime fiction this semester.

I was not expecting its split into three such distinctive parts; several times I got to a point where it seemed everything had to be wrapped, but then we'd jump forward in time, and a whole new angle of the case would be exposed, an aspect which really made for an enjoyable reading experience.

And again, this was just so well-crafted. Val weaves so much evidence, so many distinct and memorable characters, and so much thought into this one book. I was fortunate enough to be able to ask her about how she stays organized while she's writing during a Q&A my class got to have with her, and she laughed and told us all about this color-coded flashcard system she used to use.

The last part was probably my least favorite, as it rang the least genuine to me, but, oh, my God that ending was just spectacular. I had a lot of theories, but none of them even came close to the shock of the truth.

I didn't think the writing itself was anything of note, but everything else here really gives you all you could ever ask for in a mystery novel, and for that, this really was a great read. I mean, really, what a way to end the semester!

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