Samantha

I wanted to like it, but…

Revisado: 03-30-24

Had so much promise. Great location! Fun characters! A nice light touch of humor! But it couldn’t keep my attention. And too many characters to be introduced in a cozy of such short length. I just finished it last week and I don’t even remember who the murderer was.

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Great characters against a compelling landscape

Revisado: 02-05-24

Excited for this new series. Grabbed me right away. Love the characters and I always enjoy a book when the landscape too becomes a “character” and that happens here.

This big fight/chase scene was a bit drawn out; but that’s my only small complaint.

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Aged poorly and needs major a trigger warning

Revisado: 02-03-24

I am reading this is 2024 and I would have predicted a mid 90’s publication date for this book but looks like it came out in 2001.

The treatment of sexual assault in the book is really terrible. First there is no getting away from it—victimization of women is THE central theme. Second, there is so much victim-blaming and toxic messaging about women who have experienced sexual assault it is hard to pay attention to the plot at all. The story seems to swim in a general broth of misogyny.

I do think some of this is due to the age of the book and maybe some folks could enjoy the book with that in mind, but I just couldn’t.

Plus, I have heard that she changes in later books but in this book Rizzoli (the main character) is petulant and annoying.

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Solid. Looking forward to the next one.

Revisado: 12-12-23

Discovered this series after I’d exhausted so many others of a similar ilk and I am enjoying it so far. I like these deeply placed-based crime novels and the characters are growing on me.

One note on this book at least—there are fairly offhand references about sexual assault and rape. This may be triggering for some.

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Good story slightly frustrating quirks

Revisado: 11-11-23

I really love Carlene O’Connor and am enjoying this new series. But, two small niggles make these miss the mark compared to her Irish Village Mystery series. First, the characters aren’t very likable. They aren’t terrible but get under your skin—like after awhile you want to roll your eyes at them. Second, I feel like so much misunderstanding in the stories comes from people in conversation not speaking clearly about what they mean. That device gets tired and I find myself listening to the dialogue often thinking that if one person actually just clearly said what they meant ONCE all kinds of things would be cleared up!

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Rich characters, excellent stories, inspired narration

Revisado: 10-24-23

So good. I love these books and especially enjoyed this addition to the series. Was a bit worried at first when DC left the police, but with this book I can see that the shift to him being a PI has great possibilities. Felt like this is the book where he gets his footing in this line of work and so do we as readers.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Mixed bag

Revisado: 10-01-23

I like the first story. Didn’t mind the third and had to entirely skip the middle one (was it a kid’s book!?). The narration didn’t do it for me either. Fine, but not worth a credit in hindsight.

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Can’t keep my attention

Revisado: 10-01-23

This series just doesn’t do it for me. So many names and no one character really distinguishes themselves; it’s hard to keep them straight. And I just don’t buy the main character’s relationship. Something just missing in how it’s portrayed.

It’s just all a bit blah compared to the other series.

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If you haven’t read the series this might be tough

Revisado: 03-01-23

I’ve read all of this series and even
I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of all the characters. I love how she brings them back in books as it helps you feel immersed in the journey of Gemma and Duncan but it does mean that there are many characters and references to past stories that can add a complexity to the listening. But, I do think these books overall are solid. Definitely one of my favorite series.

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Uff. Unbelievable. Annoying characters. Cheesy

Revisado: 03-01-23

I really like GM Maillet’s Max Turner books-they were charming and cheekily self-aware about their cozy-quality. I’ve given two of the Augusta Hawke books a chance now. The first one was fine but very forgettable. This one was kinda like nails on a chalkboard.

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