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lauraborkpower's review against another edition
4.0
I am withholding a fifth star until I have a nice sit-down with Ms. Gran to give her the following: one smack upside the head, and then 1 million high-fives. Not necessarily in that order.
I wrote this about her first Claire DeWitt book, CDW and the City of the Dead, and I'll write it again: I'd like to write a book just like this. Claire is an amazing character, and a fantastic detective. She's a coke-snorting, green tea-drinking, sex-having private fu@#ing detective. She apologizes for nothing and is hell bent on destroying herself. Which is why Gran gets both the smack upside the head and the high fives: because DeWitt is right on the edge of destruction there at the end of the book, and Gran just walks away. She leaves the reader with a few mysteries solved, though of course, not all.
What Gran does beautifully is give us a story that builds on Claire's character in the present and not-so-distant past--with the mystery of Paul's death--and builds on Claire's adolescent character as a budding detective--with the Case of the End of the World and the stories about Tracy. By layering more information about Tracy, and the very important clue about her contacting Chloe, Gran is building a character, a single mystery, and a rich series of books inching satisfyingly toward a payoff.
Now, do I really think that Gran will let Claire die before we figure out the truth about Tracy's disappearance? Absolutely not. But she'd better have book #3 in the can and ready for a Fall 2014 publication or that smack upside the head will be strong.
I wrote this about her first Claire DeWitt book, CDW and the City of the Dead, and I'll write it again: I'd like to write a book just like this. Claire is an amazing character, and a fantastic detective. She's a coke-snorting, green tea-drinking, sex-having private fu@#ing detective. She apologizes for nothing and is hell bent on destroying herself. Which is why Gran gets both the smack upside the head and the high fives: because DeWitt is right on the edge of destruction there at the end of the book, and Gran just walks away. She leaves the reader with a few mysteries solved, though of course, not all.
What Gran does beautifully is give us a story that builds on Claire's character in the present and not-so-distant past--with the mystery of Paul's death--and builds on Claire's adolescent character as a budding detective--with the Case of the End of the World and the stories about Tracy. By layering more information about Tracy, and the very important clue about her contacting Chloe, Gran is building a character, a single mystery, and a rich series of books inching satisfyingly toward a payoff.
Now, do I really think that Gran will let Claire die before we figure out the truth about Tracy's disappearance? Absolutely not. But she'd better have book #3 in the can and ready for a Fall 2014 publication or that smack upside the head will be strong.
pannapark's review against another edition
3.0
Anyone else find that the main character, Claire de Witt’s, constant coke and pill popping habit got in the way of the plot? I mean how many mystery solving ‘little grey cells’ would one have left with all the reckless over usage of drugs? That and the random sex with strangers and stealing their prescription drugs.
Oh and all the references to the detective’s bible got on my nerves too!
Oh and all the references to the detective’s bible got on my nerves too!
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
"I felt my head buzz and I lay down on the cool white tile floor. It smelled like pine. I wondered how anyone’s bathroom floor could be so clean. Maybe they cleaned it. My mind raced."
Dieser zweite Band war so gut wie der erste, aber ohne die peinliche Geschichte mit dem schwarzen Protagonisten, dem die weiße Privatdetektivin einen Gefallen damit tut, ihn ins Gefängnis zu schicken, wo er, wie man in diesem Band leider erfährt, zum ersten Mal in seinem Leben die Chance hat, was aus sich zu machen. Aber das kommt hier nur nebenbei vor, und fast alles andere mochte ich sehr, den Hardboiled-Stil, die surrealistischen Elemente, die Zitate aus dem fiktiven Silette-Buch. Es kommen verwirrend viele Figuren vor, aber dank Volltextsuche im Open-Library-Scan war das kein Problem.
Dieser zweite Band war so gut wie der erste, aber ohne die peinliche Geschichte mit dem schwarzen Protagonisten, dem die weiße Privatdetektivin einen Gefallen damit tut, ihn ins Gefängnis zu schicken, wo er, wie man in diesem Band leider erfährt, zum ersten Mal in seinem Leben die Chance hat, was aus sich zu machen. Aber das kommt hier nur nebenbei vor, und fast alles andere mochte ich sehr, den Hardboiled-Stil, die surrealistischen Elemente, die Zitate aus dem fiktiven Silette-Buch. Es kommen verwirrend viele Figuren vor, aber dank Volltextsuche im Open-Library-Scan war das kein Problem.
sandygx260's review against another edition
2.0
I'm still so pissed off at this book that I can't write a coherent review. Really? After the amazing first book this is what we receive? Well fuck that.
Like I said, still pissed off.
Like I said, still pissed off.
katel1970's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one, but, man, it was dark. Not as fun as the first one, that's for sure.
vandermeer's review against another edition
1.0
Sie ist die ganze Zeit zugedröhnt und löst dann am Ende dennoch den Fall. Die Lösung war offensichtlich und sie war sehr nervig.
monicadee88's review against another edition
2.0
While I appreciate that Claire DeWitt is unlike many other heroine detectives, I couldn't help but feel disconnected from her and the other characters. Perhaps the characters were not developed as fully as I would have liked, or perhaps the writing style isn't my taste. Either way, the story left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
nullasalus3's review against another edition
3.0
Sara Gran continues to offer a peculiar version of a PI in Claire Dewitt. She has some of the classic flavor of a noir detective, especially in this novel, given her functional (and then not) addictive behaviors. Her investigation techniques feel more traditional here than in her first appearance, though she still relies on dreams and chance more than a typical detective.
Two mysteries unfold during the course of this novel, and they’re both reasonably engaging. However, at times I found myself losing interest in her downward spiral due to grief because I lacked an emotional connection to Claire. She seems determined to keep herself emotionally walled off from those around her, and, consequently, I felt distanced from her as well.
Two mysteries unfold during the course of this novel, and they’re both reasonably engaging. However, at times I found myself losing interest in her downward spiral due to grief because I lacked an emotional connection to Claire. She seems determined to keep herself emotionally walled off from those around her, and, consequently, I felt distanced from her as well.
holyshark's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Drug use
chazbot72's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Claire is such a great character. She makes me think of Sherlock Holmes with her less that perfect ways of dealing with things. She's broken, but still fighting...I dunno, I can't quite find the words I want. She's just cool.