It seems like Roberts got back into the groove again with her sixth In Death novel and it’s all thanks to the mystery. Well, not the mystery per say. It seems like Roberts got back into the groove again with her sixth In Death novel and it’s all thanks to the mystery. Well, not the mystery per say. The book works because of the killer. Instead of writing (poorly) about Wicca and Satanism, Roberts writes about a safe Catholic mad man who just “happens” to have ties to Roarke’s past.
The further I read this series, the less I respect Eve Dallas as a policeman and the more I see this story as just another offering at the great altar of Roarke. Every. Single. Thing. Revolves around him. Eve does a very little actual policing and instead spends her time skirting the law and bending the rules to keep Roarke safe. And having sex. There’s a lot of fade-to-black sex, again.
I wouldn’t mind seeing what happens to the secondary characters and if they keep true to their original characterisations—or descriptions, which I could be doubting because of my Swiss cheese brain—but I doubt I’m keen enough to hunt down the remaining thirty something books of this series. ...more
Sota on sota ja ihiminen on ihiminen. Seleviytyjä. Taipuu tai hajoaa mutta selviytyy.
Hyvä tositarina vaikken Ketun muovaamista ihmishahmoista erityiseSota on sota ja ihiminen on ihiminen. Seleviytyjä. Taipuu tai hajoaa mutta selviytyy.
Hyvä tositarina vaikken Ketun muovaamista ihmishahmoista erityisemmin pitänytkään. Kielenkäyttö oli hiukka rivompaa kuin mihin olen kotona tottunut, lieneekö tuo sitten eteläisemmän paikkakunnan vai ajankohdan syytä.
***
I liked the story but I didn't particularly like the characters. The story is based on real events....more
It's been many, many years since I first read this book, but I can say that knowing where things were going didn't lessen the impact of the story. If It's been many, many years since I first read this book, but I can say that knowing where things were going didn't lessen the impact of the story. If anything, I felt like I understood more this time around, both about the book and about myself.
First person narrative isn't my favourite, but it works here. The old Adson is free to add context without which the reader would be at a loss––unless they're historians specialised in the events of the 13th century–-but also errs onto long byways about religion and beliefs. For a secular person such as myself, these got to be a bit too heavy. The young Adson faithfully describes and narrates the events of that week he and William spend in the monastery watching a murder mystery unfold.
There are many things I disagree with but that are appropriate and even essential to the period and the setting. The role of women and the attitudes towards commoners to name a few. Also, my heart weeps at the thought of a restricted access to any library.
It's an exhausting read even as a Finnish translation and I can't imagine reading it in any other language without losing a part of my sanity, but I know I'll be picking this book up again. So, please, choose your native translation––or the closest to your understanding available--and read this book. Or reread it. Or reread it again. You get the idea. ...more
This is one of my NetGalley picks. As you can see, I went for the pretty cover, but the blurb isn't bad either. A historical romance. A choice betweenThis is one of my NetGalley picks. As you can see, I went for the pretty cover, but the blurb isn't bad either. A historical romance. A choice between servitude and nunnery. The Beauty and the Beast. What's not to love?
The year is 1352 and the place is a small village in England. Annabel Chapman's rich merchant father lost his fortune and died of pestilence–The Black Death I imagine–few years earlier. Her mother, unwilling to accept her newfound poverty, forbade her children to participate in the harvest and has thus condemned them into dept to the Lord Ranulf le Wyse. Now, one of her children must work for their new lord to pay off that debt.
Annabel's brothers hope to marry her off to the Bailiff Tom, a widower old as their father would have been, and not known for his honestly. He's promised to pay the Chapman family debt in exchange for a young bride, but Annabel has other plans. She has had a dream of joining a nunnery for as long as she can remember. A dream that appeared to die with her father's wealth for convents are sanctuaries for the rich. Perhaps there's another way, perhaps the village priest will let her read his Bible, for is her dearest wish: To read the Holy Writ.
This is a quiet story, a description of a place and age long since forgotten. It's a description of people easily swayed by superstition as well as the foreboding sermons of the priests. It's a story about people who lived and breathed their daily duties as much as the word of God.
For someone who grew up secular, these things give hives–why, just look at that reddish skin of my arm. I admit it's a knee-jerk reaction that usually keeps me away from all Christian literature, but I'm glad I read this one.
Melanie Dickerson succeeds in where others have failed. She manages to make Annabel's and Lord le Wyse's beliefs an intricate part of their characters without crossing the very fine line to a preachy tone. I never once did feel like flouncing the book until the very end, and even then only briefly. These characters' values aren't the same as mine, but I can respect them and how they entwine with the story–and hide my eye rolls from unsuspecting passers by.
For a quiet story there are few dramatic twists. There's an arson, a battery, and a lynch mob. Oh, almost forgot. There's a romance too, the quiet, convincing kind.
If I were in the habit of giving half stars, this would get one. Alas, we must content ourselves with full ones.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley....more
Loading...
