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Review Date: 8/19/2023
I found the tone and pacing of this book very similar to THE WHITE TIGER, even though the main characters of each stake out different moral ground. Good, but my favorite Adiga book is LAST MAN IN TOWER (I found the larger cast interesting), and AMNESTY did nothing to change my opinion.
Review Date: 7/6/2020
Gee, I have to say I thought this was very good indeed. So many books set in Victorian drawing rooms among the titled and affluent go for wit and sparkle in the dialogue--Clark actually achieves it, and the narrative has the consistent touch of a good writer as well. Maybe some editing could have brought the book in at fewer pages, but for the most part, the prose doesn't feel self-indulgently lush to me. AND a real, well-researched social conscience saturates the story; there are not just facile references to the plights of those outside the carriage windows. A good novel to go to if you're interested in the long UK sojourn of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Review Date: 7/20/2017
I'm glad to have read this - inventive, memorable characters, assured writing not too impressed with itself. I think I wish the story had been wrapped up a little bit better. Unless I really missed something, I didn't feel the fantasy elements were carried through to the "finish line."
Review Date: 2/22/2020
I have loyally read all the books in this series but I feel it's gone downhill precipitously since DEATH IN THE FLOATING CITY, set in Venice--I think that's as far back as book 7? For half a dozen books now and more, Alexander insists on ricocheting between the regular cast in Victorian times and some other heretofore unknown character--often deep in the past. Does she fear she can't sustain interest in Colin and Emily and company long enough for a full book? I would rather keep the momentum of the story with them and have them delve into antiquity for answers rather than hear from the people living in antiquity.
Like many of the series of this type, children are ignored and barely thought of, home with Nanny. But one of the saving graces here is a NEW familial twist that many will like. I'm just not sure how long I can keep going with this series.
Like many of the series of this type, children are ignored and barely thought of, home with Nanny. But one of the saving graces here is a NEW familial twist that many will like. I'm just not sure how long I can keep going with this series.
Review Date: 11/22/2019
I thought this new Counterfeit Lady series entry was especially well-plotted -- good twists and turns. At this point Victoria Thompson's other series is limping along by comparison.
Review Date: 10/15/2019
The Hangman's Daughter mysteries have a unique milieu and Potzsch is gifted at putting the central family in high-stakes situations. But for my money they don't belong in any elite grouping of historical mysteries because of the indulgent repetitiveness of the writing. Probably 75 pages could be trimmed from any book in the series without sacrificing anything of plot or characterization. Squalor, shame, societal underbelly, drunkenness--yes, we get it.
Review Date: 6/27/2022
I picked this up from my to-be-read pile thinking it looked like a good candidate for a "palate cleanser" after something much heavier and more self-consciously literary. I was right, but before you think I've damned it with faint praise, let me continue so that I can make a case for why you might really like it.
Novelists choosing to set stories in a very specific time and place somewhere in the last several decades want to deploy ALL their research into the moment's zeitgeist. It can feel very effortful. I thought Barbash did well at making the copious pop culture more seamless than many authors manage (in this case the legendary Dakota Hotal in NYC in 1980).
Stories about celebrity families also seem to take delight in making their relationships and their interactions very lacerating. This was actually a novel in which the celebrities were kind to each other, their friends, and their public. This was a big point in its favor for me. I agree with the previous reviewer that in the last act of the book Anton's choices lost some of their refreshing, sterling quality. But for most of the way this book very much held my interest. I don't know whether the author nailed John and Yoko, but they weren't boring. Neither was the traversal of late-night TV.
Novelists choosing to set stories in a very specific time and place somewhere in the last several decades want to deploy ALL their research into the moment's zeitgeist. It can feel very effortful. I thought Barbash did well at making the copious pop culture more seamless than many authors manage (in this case the legendary Dakota Hotal in NYC in 1980).
Stories about celebrity families also seem to take delight in making their relationships and their interactions very lacerating. This was actually a novel in which the celebrities were kind to each other, their friends, and their public. This was a big point in its favor for me. I agree with the previous reviewer that in the last act of the book Anton's choices lost some of their refreshing, sterling quality. But for most of the way this book very much held my interest. I don't know whether the author nailed John and Yoko, but they weren't boring. Neither was the traversal of late-night TV.
Review Date: 12/24/2018
Huge fan of Pearl, but wanted much more from this one....too many momentum-killing digressions about Dante.
The Dark Heart of Florence: A Lady Emily Mystery (Lady Emily Mysteries)
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
2
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
2
Review Date: 5/19/2021
I've reviewed other entries in this series and complained that I haven't REALLY enjoyed one since way back at Book 7, Death in the Floating City. I just don't like Alexander's recent trend of ricocheting back and forth between Hargreaves and Co. in 1903 to some new character based in antiquity. I would love to see her stay in 1903 and write an entire novel with just the regular cast, including some who have been sidelined of late. That said, this new book might be my favorite since Floating City. The 15th-century story line had lots of genuine emotion and suspense and strong scaffolding of historical research, and the "present-day" story line felt active and urgent, too. (All the sly stuff about the conjugal heat between Colin and Emily gets OLD for me after a while.)
Review Date: 9/23/2019
I have been too dismissive of Anne Perry for too long -- "too prolific to be any good," I thought. Recently I have read the Daniel Pitt books and the first two Christmas novella. Now book 1 of Elena Standish. Hats off to Perry for starting two new series in her late 70s. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Instead of establishing a wonderful premise and then hitting doldrums in the middle, the suspense kept ratcheting up well. Chapters alternate between the plucky heroine and the corridors of power, and at first I found that annoying, but by two-thirds of the way through I forgave it all. There was some sense, too, that Elena was simply being batted from mysterious man to mysterious man, rather than figuring some things out for herself, but eventually she also gets her moment to shine. In each of Perry's book's I've undertaken, I like the thoroughness and logic with which she approaches each bend in the case--generally without belaboring things. Not perfect, this book, but quite tense, and thoughtful, moving things to say about the rise of fascism and appeasement.
Review Date: 5/19/2021
My least favorite of the short series so far. Miriam fforde Croft almost completely absent--a disappointment. Too much redundant and helpless rumination over the facts of the case, which happens a lot anyway, but in this case too few of Perry's trademark little gems about human nature to redeem the middle. The last third picks up with police corruption and an extended episode with Charlotte Pitt.
Review Date: 7/8/2016
Helpful Score: 1
I do like Morton's ability to combine a Gothic flavor with a a heroine possessing fairly modern sensibilities, though they don't coexist plausibly all the time.
The prose had real flair much of the time, but I have to agree with Cathy C. about the undue length of the book (and Morton's book's generally) - that tells you I'd like to see more discipline in the writing as well as style. And the secrets ARE telegraphed a bit.
The prose had real flair much of the time, but I have to agree with Cathy C. about the undue length of the book (and Morton's book's generally) - that tells you I'd like to see more discipline in the writing as well as style. And the secrets ARE telegraphed a bit.
Review Date: 8/19/2023
Markovits always offers a high level of both craft and insight, and I started out thinking this was going to be a book to keep. Great writing, no doubt. But the more complex psychology gives way to lots of sweating and crying and obsessing about sex, and most of the characters are generally unlikable. I couldn't imagine choosing to spend time with them again, so ... into the "donate" pile. I will eventually have to make a decision on whether to also keep Markovits' Lord Byron trilogy.
Review Date: 1/31/2024
After being sort of spellbound by Henry's BOOK LOVERS, I was let down somewhat by this one. Many individual jokes don't land, and the humor in general felt much more effortful than in earlier books. The worst turnoff for me was the sheer uninterrupted alcohol consumption--and when they took a break from beverages, there was a 30-page scene of most of the group high on gummy edibles. I didn't want to take life lessons from these people and their all-too-brief flirtations with maturity. But I will admit that the last 75-100 pages offered redemption. The overindulgence waned and the Henry trademarks came into play again - memorable, the way she handles the nitty-gritty of hard-won self-knowledge and relationship repair.
Review Date: 11/2/2018
I hope other readers give this one more stars. I thought it was a well-wrought yarn - the mystery thread was not all it needed to be, but in most other respects it was a memorable homefront story with warmth, suspense, and telling detail - satisfyingly specific and emotional. The prose evidenced more care than some. Will look forward to this author's next story of Pearl Harbor in spring 2019.
Review Date: 7/2/2015
Helpful Score: 1
If you miss the kind of romantic suspense plied by Phyllis A. Whitney etc., then you'll want to at least give this book a go. Lawrenson has a gift for rich language that engages all the five senses and creates a sense of place - so important to this genre. Ultimately, though, I felt the story did not justify a book of this length (almost 400 pages) and it lacked a big "reveal." If you don't need it to be a true whodunit, you should be fine.
Review Date: 5/13/2014
Agree -- Carrie Brown's books have always been "quiet" ones, but she has great powers of lyricism and always seems to be taking a look at lives that I recognize. BUT in this case, the prose seemed not as special as in her other books, the plot more listless and the characters not specifically motivated enough.
2020 - have given this a reread and decide to up the star count. This time I relished all of Brown's strengths on display and didn't mind some of the things I mentioned before. The prose DOES stand up to her other books, even if the plot is a bit more subdued. Sometimes it's all about what's going on in your own life when you read something and this time it was very poignant for me.
2020 - have given this a reread and decide to up the star count. This time I relished all of Brown's strengths on display and didn't mind some of the things I mentioned before. The prose DOES stand up to her other books, even if the plot is a bit more subdued. Sometimes it's all about what's going on in your own life when you read something and this time it was very poignant for me.
Review Date: 1/31/2024
Susan's review above gives me a little bit of FOMO, but I didn't finish this. The long title story had the main characters treating each other with such (seemingly) casual cruelty! Even when I finished that section and knew I was going to encounter other people, I didn't want to run the risk of all the stories revolving around that "great love" that had put me off.
Review Date: 10/12/2016
I gave up on this one just before page 100. It's understandable that the narrator's experiences have put her very much on edge, but I found her so unappealing that I didn't want to keep going. I've discussed these adoption issues with friends in the midst of the process, and the insights I came across here didn't add anything.
Murder at the Grand Raj Palace (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation, Bk 4)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
3
Review Date: 2/29/2020
I like when I see a mystery novelist's writing grow stronger as the series progresses, rather than more perfunctory. I thought the book previous to this one (STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF A BOLLYWOOD STAR) had both emotional satisfaction and a good, twisty case, and this book continues in that vein. Looking forward to reading the new-ish Book 5.
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