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A review by litwithleigh
Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid
3.0
3.5 rounded down bc vibes
SYNOPSIS
Outspoken feminists are dying by suicide, but is it really suicide or is it murder?? DCI Carol Jordan is given a second chance and with the help of her buddies, she sets out to determine if virtual violence has driven these women to death.
MY OPINION
Ughhhh... this one is SO hard to rate. Arguably the writing is great, the plot is well-executed, the premise is topical even 7 yrs on... but idk it was just missing a lil something something. Hence 3.5, rounded down. This was Honda Civic Reliable, but you're driving with eco mode on... slow and steady acceleration.
WDYM Pink?? I mean it took 46% of the book to get Carol Jordan actually actively working the case!!! The first half of the book focused on her drink problem, her weird relationship with Tony, and Stacey being dickmatized with lil pockets of action... mostly due to the killer's unsettling POV. When the case finally does get going, it still meanders its way to the end when everything comes to a crash.
There's a big ass cliffhanger, but I'll keep it a stack, I have no intention to read any other books in this series. Why?? Because I need MORE. And apparently Carol and Tony have some kind of sexual tension but I swear there was more tension between Paula and her contraband kit kat bars. Tony felt like Carol's little brother or a gay bestie. I just wasn't buying they had a TING going on and ain't no way I'm reading nine whole books about this without so much as a kiss. Unacceptable lmao. Their "relationship" didn't create the tension I felt when reading about Lacey Flint and Marc in Sharon Bolton's series.
The big plus of this book is the topic. 7 yrs on and online trolls (incels namely) has only become worse. In a weird way, this book was ahead of its time. I appreciated the psychological insight into the serial killer's whack ass behaviour; this was very well-written. Some of the comments about Stacey were a little weird... I cringed when she was described as "yellow." But then at the same time this book was very progressive. So idk. Mixed back of wokeness.
Anyways, an interesting enough police procedural, but lacking that je ne sais quoi to get me hooked on the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, topical, well-researched, enjoyed the killer's pov as always
Cons: slow ass burn, half the book spent on Carol's personal struggles, didn't buy into the sexual tension between Carol and Tony, Stacey was TOO dickmatized like pls ma'am hack into your brain and set yourself straight, weird comments about Stacey's ethnicity
SYNOPSIS
Outspoken feminists are dying by suicide, but is it really suicide or is it murder?? DCI Carol Jordan is given a second chance and with the help of her buddies, she sets out to determine if virtual violence has driven these women to death.
MY OPINION
Ughhhh... this one is SO hard to rate. Arguably the writing is great, the plot is well-executed, the premise is topical even 7 yrs on... but idk it was just missing a lil something something. Hence 3.5, rounded down. This was Honda Civic Reliable, but you're driving with eco mode on... slow and steady acceleration.
WDYM Pink?? I mean it took 46% of the book to get Carol Jordan actually actively working the case!!! The first half of the book focused on her drink problem, her weird relationship with Tony, and Stacey being dickmatized with lil pockets of action... mostly due to the killer's unsettling POV. When the case finally does get going, it still meanders its way to the end when everything comes to a crash.
There's a big ass cliffhanger, but I'll keep it a stack, I have no intention to read any other books in this series. Why?? Because I need MORE. And apparently Carol and Tony have some kind of sexual tension but I swear there was more tension between Paula and her contraband kit kat bars. Tony felt like Carol's little brother or a gay bestie. I just wasn't buying they had a TING going on and ain't no way I'm reading nine whole books about this without so much as a kiss. Unacceptable lmao. Their "relationship" didn't create the tension I felt when reading about Lacey Flint and Marc in Sharon Bolton's series.
The big plus of this book is the topic. 7 yrs on and online trolls (incels namely) has only become worse. In a weird way, this book was ahead of its time. I appreciated the psychological insight into the serial killer's whack ass behaviour; this was very well-written. Some of the comments about Stacey were a little weird... I cringed when she was described as "yellow." But then at the same time this book was very progressive. So idk. Mixed back of wokeness.
Anyways, an interesting enough police procedural, but lacking that je ne sais quoi to get me hooked on the series.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: well-written, topical, well-researched, enjoyed the killer's pov as always
Cons: slow ass burn, half the book spent on Carol's personal struggles, didn't buy into the sexual tension between Carol and Tony, Stacey was TOO dickmatized like pls ma'am hack into your brain and set yourself straight, weird comments about Stacey's ethnicity