THE BONE CLOCK by Andrew James Greig

4* Lacks 'gelling with the reader' factor for me, but a very decent tale, with admirable leads, and a killer I had to admire and feel for, one I wasn't sorry they got away with it.

I think the blurb feels a tad misleading, as the mentioned female DI isn't a lead character, but a very good investigator and support to the DCI, whose tale this is. Though he's widowed and clearly struggling to get back into the land of the living, he's hard to gel with because he's so closed-off. His redeeming quality is that he still sees and hears his late wife, and he seems to be trying to heed her words and counsel. The tale is strangely emotionless, though, and I didn't feel as if I got to know any characters, or was vested in them personally, though I will absolutely be reading more of this series (and was grateful and greedy for book 2 that I happened to get a copy of). 

The story is set in remote Scotland with different policing and lawmaking rules that as a Brit in England, I didn't quite understand. It's very different and it feels as if sadly, power and prejudice, threats and politics prevent the truth from being outed and justice done. So, thank goodness that the killer had planned their revenge thoroughly, orchestrated it under the cover of literal and figurative darkness, and got away with it. I particularly liked the casual little physical display that revealed their identity and that they did a flit under the cover of darkness, getting away with justice and revenge. I've not often admired a killer or been on their side, but this one was justified in their actions, and very, very clever with it, yo the point of admiration. I did feel a little sorry for the DCI when the killer's reveal came, but he gets over this aspect of the tale quite nicely in book 2! And, I think he wouldn't have wanted to pursue the killer even if he could've. 

Despite not feeling I got to know and like the leads, I really enjoyed this cleverly done tale of revenge best served cold, with a dash of French flair. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing 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