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marlisenicole's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Rape, and Child abuse
jstone3553's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
Innocent Blood deals a lot with the aftermath of a particularly horrible event in a way that brings in the ongoing effect of crime in peoples' lives, questions on upbringing of hereditary vs nurture, willful ignorance & innocence, forgiveness... The truly innocent person, in some ways, is the most pitiable and perceived to be the most boring; so most of the characters are not very nice. (Which is a rather interesting choice in a story.) Some descriptive passages dragged on a bit but there was plenty that was both gripping and thought-provoking. Is there any chance of forgiveness for the lowest of the low on the criminal hierarchy? Difficult question.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
Who's is the innocent blood? That's the question I'm always left with. No one's, not really, seems to be the answer.
the_dire_raven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
ldv's review against another edition
2.0
This one is strange. I'm not sure if I read it previously, but while I could not predict what was going to happen, as it did, (especially near the end) I was not surprised...almost deja vu, but not fully.
Very peculiar relationships between parents and children, murder and revenge. Peculiar indeed.
Update: I have read it before...in fact, I own a paperback copy. Joke's on me.
Very peculiar relationships between parents and children, murder and revenge. Peculiar indeed.
Update: I have read it before...in fact, I own a paperback copy. Joke's on me.
rebeccacider's review against another edition
2.0
I've always had mixed feelings about P.D. James, and this book will certainly be the last of hers I read for some time. I find her novels well-crafted, engrossing, and memorable, but I'm not sure that I actually enjoy them.
Innocent Blood is populated by a cast of characters who exist in a miasma of dysfunctional amorality. James depicts their inner lives with detached, sociological precision, writing with subtle compassion, yet rarely permitting us to identify with them. The novel could as easily be titled "Original Sin" - there's a heavy-handed pessimism about human nature and the ability of individuals to be genuinely self-aware or altruistic.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Innocent Blood reads like a morality play. Fair enough for a crime novel, but not my cup of tea. Here the worldview of the author looms so large, and the story feels so artificially bleak, that it's hard for me to assess whether James' story has anything genuine to say about the human experience.
Innocent Blood is populated by a cast of characters who exist in a miasma of dysfunctional amorality. James depicts their inner lives with detached, sociological precision, writing with subtle compassion, yet rarely permitting us to identify with them. The novel could as easily be titled "Original Sin" - there's a heavy-handed pessimism about human nature and the ability of individuals to be genuinely self-aware or altruistic.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Innocent Blood reads like a morality play. Fair enough for a crime novel, but not my cup of tea. Here the worldview of the author looms so large, and the story feels so artificially bleak, that it's hard for me to assess whether James' story has anything genuine to say about the human experience.
hlogan's review against another edition
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.