Reviews

Totenfang by Simon Beckett

ingo_lembcke's review against another edition

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3.0

My sister mentioned she just bought the 6th David Hunter book, so I thought it was time to read this ...

As she mentioned, it was ok, but not too great, way too much infodump, even in the end to bring all together, while well written, it was not too suspenseful. A lot of twists, most I did not see coming, so for some this might be enough for a higher rating, but think, all in all there where too many twists and too many intertwined stories, could have cut 20-30% to make for a more suspenseful book.
For that it is for me 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 for the infodumps and being too long.

As I have been burned recently by reading 2 or more of one author back2back, I will wait for the price to sink for #06 and read it later this year or next.

Still recommended, if you do not know the author yet, the crimes and descriptions are grissly and very real. The author has (like a few others) visited the (first) Body Farm, in Tennessee in Knoxville, USA. There are a few (older) standalone novels he wrote, which I thought where really bad, the writing style for the David Hunter series is much better.

If you like this I suggest [a:Jefferson Bass|2747568|Jefferson Bass|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296357311p2/2747568.jpg] a duo of Jon Jefferson, an author and journalist, and anthropologist Dr. William Bass, who invented and built the original, first Body Farm.

hopedihop's review against another edition

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1.0

Puh. Die Hunter-Reihe wurde von Buch zu Buch schlechter und der fünfte Band wird mein letzter gewesen sein. Ich weiß nichtmal ob ich noch weitere Becketts anrühren möchte.

Zum einen stört mich, dass es keine Protagonistin geben kann, die nicht irgendwie ein Love-Interest von Hunter wird. Frauen können in der Welt von David Hunter, und offenbar auch in der Welt von Simon Beckett, nicht einfach existieren - sie müssen irgendwie sexualisiert werden. Auch hier bleibt Hunter weiter ein chauvinistisches Arschloch, das immer die Jungfrau in Nöten sucht und retten möchte - er weiß es ja besser!

Zum Sexismus kommt in diesem Band auch Transfeindlichkeit dazu. Eine Transperson wird konstant gedeadnamed, falsch gegendert und co. AUCH vom so toleranten Hauptcharakter. Natürlich wird es bei den Bösewichten als schlechter Trait dargestellt, dagegen angehen tut aber auch keiner der "Guten". Ich könnte kotzen.

Dann David Hunter als "Ermittler" bzw. forensischer Anthropologe: müsste ich mit ihm zusammen arbeiten, wäre ich so genervt. Er ignoriert einfach alles was es an Regeln und an Vernunft zu befolgen gibt, weil, Achtung, er weiß es ja besser! Er tut Dinge ohne Bescheid zu geben und wider alle Vernunft. Dass er noch lebt ist eine ernsthafte Überraschung, so oft wie er sich selber in unnötige Gefahr bringt.

Des Weiteren hat Hunter die ganze Zeit "dieses Gefühl, dass etwas nicht passt". DIE. GANZE. ZEIT. Die Handlung kann nämlich nicht anders, als durch sein Unterbewusstsein gelöst werden. Schade.

Die Handlungen werden auch immer verworrener und an den Haaren herbeigezogener. Dieses Buch zu beenden war einfach nur ein Kampf.

ne0's review

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unnecessary misgendering and dead naming. it's not that hard to use the right pronouns and name even if it's a fictional character.

vincentoe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

4.0

ansl's review against another edition

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4.0

David Hunter boeken blijven goed :D.

domibi's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

esa19's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

dandelia's review

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3.0

|Hörbuch|

Also nach vier Bänden kann man schon etwas das bekannte Muster verändern, aber gut, dann nicht

elmattcrews's review against another edition

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3.0

This was definitley not one of Beckett's best work. The protagonist, David Hunter, a great forensic anthropologist, didn't have much to do this time. I was so disappointed that he wasn't as involved in the case as the previous four books. Without the forensic anthropology side, this is just more or less a regular crime thriller. The writing was still great, but the story itself was mediocre at best. The ending helped redeem it a little.

And I have to add that I don't care for Beckett forcing Hunter to have potential love interests in each book, which have either been: the victim, someone in the victim's family, or someone part of the investigation. Those parts were just cringe-worthy and unnecessary tbh.

dennasus's review against another edition

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3.0

I liked this one for the most part. The case was intriguing enough with new evidence and leads popping up every few pages. I had some issues with a bit of the timeline re the truth behind Villiers disappearance. And the plot around teenager Jamie felt a bit too much for me. But all in all a good book to spend a weekend with...