GONE by Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter

Good but quite melodramatic, especially the description of kneeling at a grave, hand punched into the air, palm open, screaming your dead son's name and promising answers.

This isn't my first read by these authors and I'll likely go on to read more by them. This one, unfortunately, wasn't their best, because you do have to suspend disbelief quite a bit, with a dodgy solicitor; a retired FLO who supposedly never left this unremarkable case alone; a child psych who had reservations but didn't speak up; the tale having elements from only 10 years ago, in days of CCTV pretty much everywhere but in the areas where Sam went missing; a child with clear issues, and family dynamics that weren't really believable or explained. It's like the authors tried too hard with their pale-pink, not red, herrings and it didn't work. They didn't go into enough detail, not even in the epilogue where Kane's dad wasn't even mentioned. Sigh.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer, for my reading pleasure. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SECOND GRAVE by Jeffrey B Burton

 4* Good intro to this series, and it didn't matter that I'm late to the party. This is an engrossing and engaging tale, partly because of the dynamics of the brother-sister duo, partly because of the brother's telling of the tale, partly because of the storyline but mostly because there are dogs in it, dogs that save the day, literally, and that don't get hurt. It's easy to start and there's enough told that I didn't find myself wondering about the previous book. It's quite fast paced and Cory is unaffected and literal and his 'voice' is youthful and believable and carries the tale well. The storyline is sad at the start, but that's just a facilitator for the plot, which is a good one. A sad one for some of the people involved, and boy is it good that justice of a sort, the type I find satisfying when someone's gotten away with something for too long, got done. 'Al' definitely deserved what they got. But those involved in the dec...
Read more

ALWAYS YOU AND ME by Dani Atkins

5* Even though I don't believe in HEAs anymore, this book had me crying because of THAT ending. I'm going to try and review without spoilering, but ugh, I started the book almost in tears and ended it in actual tears, and with hope that sometimes love does last.  This book is so much more than a second chance at love. It's about loving and loved but flawed characters whose lives with each other had their time, and when that time was gone, the love continued. Like Finn and Matt by Charlie Winters, this is a book I loved but won't ever read again. A part of me can't believe the author went there with the ending, but another part of me, the romantic-but-hurt part, wants to believe in the power of everlasting love.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my reading pleasure. 
Read more

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Mike Gayle

3* A pleasant enough 15-minute deckchair read. This isn't a deep novel with a big plot, but pretty much what the blurb offers. I didn't feel much for either character but the tale ended well for both - not going to spoiler, but it wasn't what I expected and it didn't quite ring true. 
Read more