This book was on some recommended book list so I added it to my paperbackswap.com wish list in January 2016. I'm 3 of 4 waiting for the book which was last offered on paperback in 2015! Since it's now 2022, I requested it from my local library.
I started it well over a week ago and just finished today. It's nearly 600 pages. If a book of this length really engages me, I can easily finish it in 3-4 days. I don't know if I've read any of this author's works, either in this series (Carol Jordan/Tony Hill) or one of her other series. This book is #9 in the CJ/TH line-up. According to many of the one- and two-star Amazon reviewers, this book doesn't measure up to the early CJ/TH ones.
Early on I didn't like Carol Jordan, the protagonist. Granted, she's an alcoholic and finally hit rock bottom. But, even after she sobered up and struggled with staying on the straight and narrow, I still didn't like her. Tony Hill comes across as a complete sap. He's besotted with Carol--she is verbally abusive to him (mainly when she's drying out) yet Tony still hangs around, willing to gobble up any crumbs Carol throws his way.
I agree with some of the other Amazon reviewers (as I write this, there are apparently no reviews by paperbackswap members) who stated that little of the book dealt with the actual murders--rather, it's more about the development of the new crime unit and its members.
The car crash at the end of the book had a very interesting twist that I didn't see coming.
There were numerous grammatical errors in the book--pairing a singular noun with a plural verb. One was "community were" when it should have been "community was." Another example is ". . .what the team are doing. . ." when it should have been "what the team is doing."
Although many of the Amazon reviewers had read previous books in this series and said they were much better, I have no interest in reading any other books by this author.
I started it well over a week ago and just finished today. It's nearly 600 pages. If a book of this length really engages me, I can easily finish it in 3-4 days. I don't know if I've read any of this author's works, either in this series (Carol Jordan/Tony Hill) or one of her other series. This book is #9 in the CJ/TH line-up. According to many of the one- and two-star Amazon reviewers, this book doesn't measure up to the early CJ/TH ones.
Early on I didn't like Carol Jordan, the protagonist. Granted, she's an alcoholic and finally hit rock bottom. But, even after she sobered up and struggled with staying on the straight and narrow, I still didn't like her. Tony Hill comes across as a complete sap. He's besotted with Carol--she is verbally abusive to him (mainly when she's drying out) yet Tony still hangs around, willing to gobble up any crumbs Carol throws his way.
I agree with some of the other Amazon reviewers (as I write this, there are apparently no reviews by paperbackswap members) who stated that little of the book dealt with the actual murders--rather, it's more about the development of the new crime unit and its members.
The car crash at the end of the book had a very interesting twist that I didn't see coming.
There were numerous grammatical errors in the book--pairing a singular noun with a plural verb. One was "community were" when it should have been "community was." Another example is ". . .what the team are doing. . ." when it should have been "what the team is doing."
Although many of the Amazon reviewers had read previous books in this series and said they were much better, I have no interest in reading any other books by this author.
