Helpful Score: 2
This was a rather interesting psychological mystery - but not a very unpredictable mystery. It's never a good sign when the mystery can be solved before reading the book... Just from the synopsis on the back of the book, it was pretty obvious whodunit. There just weren't any real surprises in this book. It was well-written, but neither the plot or characters were enough to make it anything more than your average mystery.
Wonderful psychological thriller with beautiful descriptive details. Very suspensful!
This was an interesting mystery with a twist at the end, but it seemed a bit too repetitive and seemed to go on and on too long about something that had already been covered. Plus the psycho-babble really put me off.
Good book, read it too fast, one of those who done it and really impressed at endind
Interesting read. Seemed a little slow in sections, but picked up speed. Definitely some suspense.
Nicci French's first book. Definitely not as good as her later ones.
This one only loses points because I was expecting a thriller / suspense novel, which it isn't. It's more about recovered memory -- hence the title, I suppose!
The protagonist, an architect, is supervising the construction of a guest house on her former in-laws' Shropshire estate when the excavation reveals human remains proving to be those of the family's daughter who vanished 25 years ago. Her own dissatisfaction with the police investigation leads back through a memory trail that may or may not be true.
There's never any real suspense here -- Jane never appears to be in any real danger, and the biggest mystery for most of the book is why she suddenly decided to end her 20-year marriage. The ending is especially problematic, as it requires the reader to accept the notion that the ultimately-revealed killer could then go on for the next 25 years leading a perfectly normal life.
The protagonist, an architect, is supervising the construction of a guest house on her former in-laws' Shropshire estate when the excavation reveals human remains proving to be those of the family's daughter who vanished 25 years ago. Her own dissatisfaction with the police investigation leads back through a memory trail that may or may not be true.
There's never any real suspense here -- Jane never appears to be in any real danger, and the biggest mystery for most of the book is why she suddenly decided to end her 20-year marriage. The ending is especially problematic, as it requires the reader to accept the notion that the ultimately-revealed killer could then go on for the next 25 years leading a perfectly normal life.
This was the second book that I've read by this author. I wasn't impressed by "The Red Room" and this one wasn't all that great either. The story line is a great idea, but I felt that the execution wasn't all there. The ending was no surprise because of little hints placed very carefully throughout the book; I guess I just don't care for the style of writing. It was just okay in my opinion.
