Suzi

It's clear this is incredibly well researched, and a lot of this was interesting, but it was SO detailed (about the fair and its construction) it became dry and tedious by the end.

There was far less about Holmes, which was the more interesting side of the book, but I imagine there is less known factually about him and his deeds.

I was a bit confused about why these 2 threads were even in the same book, there's no link between Holmes' killings and the World Fair apart from being in the same city at the same time.

From the amount of good things I've heard about this I expected more, but it was overly long and a bit dry for my liking.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Those are happy tears. I promise.

Honestly this was a 4 star for the vast majority then the last 30 pages and the journal just made my heart full. I just loved this.

This was great!! A funny, quick and quirky account of England's monarchs.

David Mitchell narrates it himself which is even better!

With how much people rave about this author's books, I honestly expected more.

This felt like watching a movie where you started it half an hour in - there was so little setup I felt like I'd missed something and felt completely detached from the characters.

It was easy enough to get through but felt a bit flat and predictable. I also felt like the end was weird and like it was stuck on to try and appease people who sympathise with terrorists, it just felt odd and out of place.

Also, must there be a grown man called 'Big Daddy'? No.

It's very rare I physically read non-fiction but I couldn't find this on audio anywhere and was so interested in the case I just had to buy it.

The murder-suicide case of the two white mothers and their 6 adopted Black and bi-racial children is obviously the big pull of this book, it's unfathomable as a parent that people would actually go through the process of adopting children and then kill them and themselves.

That said, the case takes up less than half of the book with the rest being focused on the failings of the US CPS and foster system for these children and others.

This is very readable and, whilst I can't really comment on a legal system I don't have any experience of, it was still an interesting read overall.

I see there are reviews from people much more familiar with the CPS and foster system so worth checking their reviews out.

Not my favourite from Sarah Morgan - something about some members of the family irritated me until they had their heartwarming/redeeming moment at the end. The main characters were a delight though, I wish I had a Cecelia grandma in my life.

The whole 'mystery' with the painting was perhaps the weakest part of this, it was clear from the second it was mentioned what the 'twist' was, and because of this it felt really dragged out and underwhelming when it was revealed.

I loved the first book in this series for how quirky the characters were and how cosy the mystery seemed.

Books 2 and 3 were definitely less cosy so I've just enjoyed them so much less. 😕

I think I'm okay just loving book 1 and leaving the series at that.

So good but so heartbreaking 💔

I loved A.J. Cook in Criminal Minds and her acting really made the narration stand out here.

I was hesitant to pick up books by this author as the hype was SO high, however I eventually caved and I'm so glad I did.

I absolutely loved this from start to finish!

I'm a sucker for a small town romance, and this had all the things I love about them - friends, found family, cute animals, and a history to the place. And Daniel?! Is he just the most perfect man? 💕

I also really loved the inclusion of the heavier, more serious topics of domestic abuse, escaping abuse cycles, familial expectation and finding your own purpose in life.

Definitely one of my favourites of the year and I'd already bought the next 2 books before I'd finished this one! 😊

This was a great sequel to The Rise of the Ranger, and expanded on everything so well.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of Tauren and the Owls, as well as the other newly introduced characters.

The first half of this did feel a bit slower than the second half, but that second half was so intense and action packed it was worth it.

I listened to this one on audio, and I actually don't think that is the format for me with this series. The narrator was okay but was a little flat so I did feel a bit disconnected at times. So I think I'll just carry on with the series on Kindle.

I can safely say the last ~40% was outstanding, everything from Vorgossos onwards was impossible to stop reading/listening to.

If the whole book had been that gripping this would have been an easy 5 stars, however I did struggle a bit with the first half of the book. The pace was much slower and sloggy, and I felt disconnected with the story after the large time jump after EoS.

I've read other reviews/posts saying the second half of the book is indicative of the rest of the series, so I'll definitely be continuing but I did unfortunately struggle with a lot of this one.

So good! Dark and twisted until the end.

I was absolutely not expecting the emotional roller coaster of this book!!

So much was fun and full of banter then the heavy parts really hit and I cried so much! 😭

I switched to audio half way through this and the 2 narrators (Corvin King and Erin Mallon) were amazing!! Absolute perfection 💕

12 books into a series and each one is just as good as the last, in fact this was one of my favourites so far.

Will and Sara are married and on their honeymoon but of course it won't go to plan. Soon enough, there's a body and everyone at the remote, isolated lodge is a suspect.

The characters in these books are always nasty but the McAlpine family take it to another level, they are despicable humans and treat Mercy like sh*t. Every twist just made them worse, and there were plenty of twists.

One of my favourite things about Karin Slaughter's books is the weaving and layers of storylines, the books are quite long for thrillers but we need the time for all of the groundwork to be laid and lead up to the ending. It's always just so well done.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Kathleen Early was amazing, as always. 100% recommend the audio for these.

Excellent as always! Looking forward to more installments.

I love all of Slaughter's books so far but this one lacked the pace of the previous ones. I still enjoyed it and liked finding out some of the back story to Jeffrey but due to the switching between the two time lines, I felt like the suspense wasn't as consistent as all of the other books. Still a good read though! :)

The first time I read this, I read from morning until night and finished it in one day. Now I think ‘How did I have a whole day to just read?!' but I could honestly sit and read the whole thing in one go again if I didn't have things to do! It's totally compelling and very difficult to stop reading when you start.

I have mixed feelings about this book, I got a bit bored of the first half as it didn't seem to be going very far but then it completed changed in the second half of the book and I read it in a matter of hours! Definitely not one for those who don't like gory detail, but it will certainly catch you and keep you gripped until the end.

I'm completely torn about how to rate this book - whilst I did enjoy it, it did take me over 2 months to read it!

The story is enjoyable and interesting but some sections just drag and are so over detailed that they seem unnecessary. I love Claire as a main character, she is just excellent to follow as the narrator and her one liners are brilliant.

I have books 2 and 3 in the series but might wait a while before attempting those, maybe when I've got another 2 months to spare!

While the books are fairly short we are starting to get a bit more background to the characters, most of which I find likeable and enjoy learning more about. Will certainly be continuing with the series!

A little slow in places but well written and an enjoyable read. Agree with others that this is an original theme, so worth a read!

I read a lot of dark stories but this one is right up there with one of the darkest I've read.

It's been many years since I read book 1 in this series but I went into book 2 and didn't really feel like I was missing anything. Jack is such a brilliant, flawed character to follow and I flew through this in a few days as I just couldn't stop, even with such a disturbing subject.

I can't give this a full 5 stars as reading this in 2024, the age really shows due to the very dated stereotypes, language used and dialogue. I also really disliked Jack and Rebecca's toxic relationship, I get she's healing from her own trauma but I hated how she was written and the things she did.

I find it hard to rate police procedurals like it as they are all fairly similar and formulaic but yet I still really enjoy them! Patterson writes well, it's fast paced, interesting and will keep you turning the pages. This one had a good storyline and good pace, however I would like to see a bit more depth and development to the characters. I found everything very surface level but know this is a longer series so hope we explore more with the characters as we progress.

I'm a bit torn with this book - on one hand I did enjoy the writing and the bulk of story with multiple POVs, but I did feel that it slowed down at the end which made it drag.

The writing is very atmospheric and visceral, making you feel what the characters were feeling and tasting and smelling. This alone made the book quite different, as I don't think I've read a story with quite such evocative writing.

My issues with the book are more about the plot - the story is based on the true crime of the Borden murders but as this is a fictionalised story there could have been so much more done with it! The few basic facts were there (and repeated!) but the story could have been expanded on to make this an excellent book. Another issue was the POV of Benjamin, who seemed to only be in the story to be able to fill in the later pages with the trial. He seemed so completely out of place that I just switched off at that point, after that chapter my attention was lost.

I liked the inclusion of the timeline at the end but would have thought there would be a note on the historical events and how she researched them. Maybe that's just me though.

I think this was a 3.5 star book but I'm rounding up to 4 as Goodreads still doesn't do halves!

Anyway, all in all this was a good book. I read it in about 2 sittings so it certainly kept me interested and gripped enough, however as it was fairly short I did feel some aspects were lacking a bit of explanation or background. I also didn't really connect with any of the characters so wasn't particularly bothered by some events which impacted them.

Finally, the ending didn't really provide any closure which I suppose the author was going for as the whole book seemed to be more of a snapshot of the ongoing situation. Whilst I don't think there is really an opportunity for a sequel, I don't think he meant to give us closure. We are left wondering if the future is that bleak.

As said, all in all I did enjoy this quick and enthralling read, I think I would have just preferred a few more details to have been fleshed out more.