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alannafowler's review
The audio is terrible and I can’t get over no one taking a child rape claim seriously
kcfromaustcrime's review
2.0
Sometimes you have to wonder if the blurbs publishers put on the front of the book are more of a hindrance than a help. In the case of Alex Gray's 6th book - they've set an unbelievably high expectation with 'Brings Glasgow to life in the same way Ian Rankin evokes Edinburgh'. Quite a high mark to set, and one I have to say I didn't think was reached with this particular book.
DCI William Lorimer has been called in to investigate the disappearance of a little girl. Snatched by a woman in a car from just outside her home, everyone fears the worst as the days drag on with little or no clues. Meanwhile, at the school where Lorimer's wife Maggie teaches, Julie Donaldson - a teenage student at the school - has accused a popular Religious Education teacher of rape, and young Kyle Kerrigan, coincidentally he is very close to Julie, is dealing with the release from jail of his violent and abusive father.
When Julie disappears an official investigation stretches Lorimer's team further as they are still hunting for the missing toddler. Meanwhile Maggie is conducting her own unofficial investigations as she and her colleagues struggle to believe that a popular teacher like Eric Chalmers would have ever been involved with a young student.
Despite the sense of urgency that you think would be inherent in these sorts of multiple threads, the book really seemed to lack focus and pace. The concentration of the story around the school - and hence Maggie - also meant that Lorimer, as the investigating policemen, was at best a bit part, a sort of a grey lurking figure in the background somewhere. The main thread in the book does appear to have been the accusation of sexual assault, and because this occurs within the context of the school community, Maggie does have a much higher "investigator" profile. As startling as this seems, the sexual assault case became all a bit boring. Perhaps this was partly because Maggie's was a very difficult character to have much interest in or sympathy with. She and her colleagues seem to operate in a starkly black and white world - where people are either "good" or "bad" and that distinction had an overtly moralistic tone to it. Along with that - the constant claims of disbelief at Eric's position (the "good" people); the colleagues with differing opinions (the "bad" people); the constant assertions that Eric is "not that sort of person"; the wanderings around in his personal life that didn't contribute much to anything in the book; and it all got very repetitious and extremely tedious. Combine that with some aspects of the abuse of Kyle Kerrigan that were - even for a reader well versed in the art of willing suspension of disbelief - unbelievable, and it was a strangely flat sort of a book. This definitely wasn't helped much by a series of nice, tied up in ribbon resolutions that were piled on at the end, leaving the whole thing with a bit of a "here's one that we prepared earlier" feeling.
Having never read any of the other books in the series, it's not possible to say whether this particular book suffers from the concentration of Maggie and the lack of a substantive part being played by William or not. Having said all of that, I should try another book in the series and see if this one just didn't quite hit the spot for this reader. The blurb has to be hinting at something after all.
Also by Alex Gray: Never Somewhere Else, A Small Weeping, Shadows of Sounds,The Riverman and Pitch Black
DCI William Lorimer has been called in to investigate the disappearance of a little girl. Snatched by a woman in a car from just outside her home, everyone fears the worst as the days drag on with little or no clues. Meanwhile, at the school where Lorimer's wife Maggie teaches, Julie Donaldson - a teenage student at the school - has accused a popular Religious Education teacher of rape, and young Kyle Kerrigan, coincidentally he is very close to Julie, is dealing with the release from jail of his violent and abusive father.
When Julie disappears an official investigation stretches Lorimer's team further as they are still hunting for the missing toddler. Meanwhile Maggie is conducting her own unofficial investigations as she and her colleagues struggle to believe that a popular teacher like Eric Chalmers would have ever been involved with a young student.
Despite the sense of urgency that you think would be inherent in these sorts of multiple threads, the book really seemed to lack focus and pace. The concentration of the story around the school - and hence Maggie - also meant that Lorimer, as the investigating policemen, was at best a bit part, a sort of a grey lurking figure in the background somewhere. The main thread in the book does appear to have been the accusation of sexual assault, and because this occurs within the context of the school community, Maggie does have a much higher "investigator" profile. As startling as this seems, the sexual assault case became all a bit boring. Perhaps this was partly because Maggie's was a very difficult character to have much interest in or sympathy with. She and her colleagues seem to operate in a starkly black and white world - where people are either "good" or "bad" and that distinction had an overtly moralistic tone to it. Along with that - the constant claims of disbelief at Eric's position (the "good" people); the colleagues with differing opinions (the "bad" people); the constant assertions that Eric is "not that sort of person"; the wanderings around in his personal life that didn't contribute much to anything in the book; and it all got very repetitious and extremely tedious. Combine that with some aspects of the abuse of Kyle Kerrigan that were - even for a reader well versed in the art of willing suspension of disbelief - unbelievable, and it was a strangely flat sort of a book. This definitely wasn't helped much by a series of nice, tied up in ribbon resolutions that were piled on at the end, leaving the whole thing with a bit of a "here's one that we prepared earlier" feeling.
Having never read any of the other books in the series, it's not possible to say whether this particular book suffers from the concentration of Maggie and the lack of a substantive part being played by William or not. Having said all of that, I should try another book in the series and see if this one just didn't quite hit the spot for this reader. The blurb has to be hinting at something after all.
Also by Alex Gray: Never Somewhere Else, A Small Weeping, Shadows of Sounds,The Riverman and Pitch Black
booklovingmom_'s review
3.0
I received Glasgow Kiss in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review.
I have never read any of the other William Lorimer novels, but after reading this one I would be open to it. I found Glasgow kiss to be an intriguing thriller that tied many different stories together to get to get the big picture. I have read some reviews saying it wasn't an accurate portrayal of Glasgow and since I've never been there I have no opinion on that, but if you are like me and know nothing about Glasgow this was a good read.
I liked Glasgow Kiss over all and would recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating thriller centering around a serial killer.
I have never read any of the other William Lorimer novels, but after reading this one I would be open to it. I found Glasgow kiss to be an intriguing thriller that tied many different stories together to get to get the big picture. I have read some reviews saying it wasn't an accurate portrayal of Glasgow and since I've never been there I have no opinion on that, but if you are like me and know nothing about Glasgow this was a good read.
I liked Glasgow Kiss over all and would recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating thriller centering around a serial killer.
scottpm's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable. It was light on scenery and I was looking for more of a Glasgow feel. Gray's writing reminds me of a Patterson book.
lucyhoad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kjkg's review
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kalkie's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first book I've read by Alex Gray. I mainly picked it up because it's set in my hometown of Glasgow. However, that said, I don't think the book was overly Glaswegian and could actually have been set anywhere. The characters didn't strike me as typically Glaswegian and it certainly wasn't as gritty as an episode of Taggart. That said, it was a good read.
There are actually three parallel stories in the book. The main one is about the accusation of rape levelled against a secondary school teacher by a pupil, who is subsequently found murdered. A second about a snatched toddler; and a third about a young boy called Kyle who is dealing with his father's release from prison. While the first one is the main focus of the book, I found the other two storylines largely unnecessary.
The main "whodunnit" storyline ticks along, but annoyingly the author makes it clear that neither of the two main murder suspects - the accused teacher and schoolboy Kyle - could actually have committed the crime. This means that the reader is put in the position of knowing more than the investigating police which makes the story drag slightly. At the end the murderer is revealed as being a new character to the storyline, which kind of removes any level of suspense that could be generated.
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't have any of the oomph or pace of Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge which was my previous read, and therefore I think this book has been somewhat overshadowed. But I will look out for more Alex Gray books and see if I get on better with them in the future.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf
There are actually three parallel stories in the book. The main one is about the accusation of rape levelled against a secondary school teacher by a pupil, who is subsequently found murdered. A second about a snatched toddler; and a third about a young boy called Kyle who is dealing with his father's release from prison. While the first one is the main focus of the book, I found the other two storylines largely unnecessary.
The main "whodunnit" storyline ticks along, but annoyingly the author makes it clear that neither of the two main murder suspects - the accused teacher and schoolboy Kyle - could actually have committed the crime. This means that the reader is put in the position of knowing more than the investigating police which makes the story drag slightly. At the end the murderer is revealed as being a new character to the storyline, which kind of removes any level of suspense that could be generated.
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't have any of the oomph or pace of Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge which was my previous read, and therefore I think this book has been somewhat overshadowed. But I will look out for more Alex Gray books and see if I get on better with them in the future.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
A case of a young girl snatched from outside her home, an RE teacher accused of rape, after rebuffing the advances of one of his pupils, and said pupil then turning up dead. Just another day for your world weary cop.
A decent enough crime story, leaves you guessing who the murderer is, no real hints until the end. As mentioned by other reviewers the publisher claims it does for Glasgow what Rebus did for Edinburgh, but i never felt that either, the language and characters of Glasgow never really appeared, just a token ex criminal father and a brother had any attempt at the language. It was more the geography of Glasgow with a brief trip past Loch Lomond that was in evidence, but even then it felt more like it was put in for the sake of it rather than being an integral part of the story.
Still i enjoyed the read, as a casual one and would likely check out more in the series.
A decent enough crime story, leaves you guessing who the murderer is, no real hints until the end. As mentioned by other reviewers the publisher claims it does for Glasgow what Rebus did for Edinburgh, but i never felt that either, the language and characters of Glasgow never really appeared, just a token ex criminal father and a brother had any attempt at the language. It was more the geography of Glasgow with a brief trip past Loch Lomond that was in evidence, but even then it felt more like it was put in for the sake of it rather than being an integral part of the story.
Still i enjoyed the read, as a casual one and would likely check out more in the series.
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