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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book so much! Cleverly plotted, with frequent surprises that I won’t call “twists” because they were so much more clever than the word implies. Really interesting characters, some of whom I cared about far more than I thought I would in the beginning. And laugh out loud funny by moments, even when the book is at its bleakest. This was my first Belinda Bauer book, but it will not be my last.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Set in Bideford Devon with an older protagonist and a great supporting cast. I enjoyed the characters and the humour in this book. There were moments that were sad and absurd and funny all at once. I loved the setting, and the pets.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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
Exit is a funny yet poignant novel centred around the premise of an assisted suicide gone wrong. Felix, mid seventies, widower and Vilomah if we want to use the same Sanskrit basis for the description of a loss of a child. He's sat by many, many bedsides over the years. A comforting presence, but not one who can do anything but watch and wait. The problem first arises when his new colleague catches the canister, passing it to the man they are overseeing the death of, thereby making herself directly culpable in his death. The second problem that arises however is larger still; the man who died isn't the one who contracted them. The canister was in the wrong room.
Felix finds himself unexpectedly on the run from the police, even as he tries to piece together exactly what happened and why. DC Calvin Bridge is asking very similar questions and the answers aren't forthcoming. The plot thickens and both Felix and DC Bridge find themselves unearthing secrets somebody is keen to stay buried. What started as a murder investigation becomes much wider and Bauer does show case just how many ways in which assisted euthanasia can be manipulated and abused.
I genuinely found this both entertaining and well written, it's a dark topic and Bauer certainly doesn't shy away from it; Felix's own losses through his life are depicted well, as are the reasons he volunteers as an Exiteer. The depictions of ageing and wanting to die on your own terms are done well. The characterisations are excellent; not just that of Felix, but of many of the supporting characters. Where I felt the novel lost it's way slightly was how convoluted it got by the end; whilst it was still enjoyable, I think it could have been better without the detour down some rather more random garden paths. The message behind it would have been less obscured by the other aspects as well.
All in all though, this was a good read and one I firmly enjoyed. It's surprisingly funny for a book about assisted suicide, and I thought the more serious topics were handled well.
Felix finds himself unexpectedly on the run from the police, even as he tries to piece together exactly what happened and why. DC Calvin Bridge is asking very similar questions and the answers aren't forthcoming. The plot thickens and both Felix and DC Bridge find themselves unearthing secrets somebody is keen to stay buried. What started as a murder investigation becomes much wider and Bauer does show case just how many ways in which assisted euthanasia can be manipulated and abused.
I genuinely found this both entertaining and well written, it's a dark topic and Bauer certainly doesn't shy away from it; Felix's own losses through his life are depicted well, as are the reasons he volunteers as an Exiteer. The depictions of ageing and wanting to die on your own terms are done well. The characterisations are excellent; not just that of Felix, but of many of the supporting characters. Where I felt the novel lost it's way slightly was how convoluted it got by the end; whilst it was still enjoyable, I think it could have been better without the detour down some rather more random garden paths. The message behind it would have been less obscured by the other aspects as well.
All in all though, this was a good read and one I firmly enjoyed. It's surprisingly funny for a book about assisted suicide, and I thought the more serious topics were handled well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Suicide, Grief
Moderate: Murder
In this charming thriller--despite the description, it is charming--an elderly man whose son and wife died painful deaths, volunteers for the Exiteers, a group that helps suffering people end their own lives. Felix has helped twenty-seven people on their way when the book starts, and the twenty-eighth visit goes wrong in a way he had never imagined. The local police in the small Devon town come into the picture as Felix tries to get out of it, but not until he understands what happened.
There are lots of lively characters in "Exit" including a young constable who enjoys the occasional flutter at the bookies. This brings him in contact with a number of people who will feature in the tale in a different way, sometimes beating them up. He has what he thinks is a guilty secret--but is it?
Belinda Bauer spins lots of different threads and manages to reel them all back in in a skillful and satisfying fashion.
This is a clever, amusing, and satisfying read, but why the dark description? Yes, it's about euthanasia (among other things)but readers looking for a darker story may be disappointed with "Exit."
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for access to this novel.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
There are lots of lively characters in "Exit" including a young constable who enjoys the occasional flutter at the bookies. This brings him in contact with a number of people who will feature in the tale in a different way, sometimes beating them up. He has what he thinks is a guilty secret--but is it?
Belinda Bauer spins lots of different threads and manages to reel them all back in in a skillful and satisfying fashion.
This is a clever, amusing, and satisfying read, but why the dark description? Yes, it's about euthanasia (among other things)but readers looking for a darker story may be disappointed with "Exit."
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for access to this novel.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader