Member Review
Review by
Kath B, Reviewer
I have read and enjoyed all the books in this series and this one was no different. As Geraldine does come with a lot of baggage, even though enough of her back story is shared in this book, to get the very best from this great character, I would recommend starting from book one and reading in order. That said, the main story is contained within this book, as usual for most series of this ilk.
So, charity shop workers make a gruesome discovery when they open up one morning. There's a body in a wheelie-bin. Enter DI Geraldine Steel to investigate. She is a bit pre-occupied with a lot of personal stuff going on in her life at the moment, but not too distracted that she doesn't give the investigation all she has. And that takes some doing because as things unwind, it gets more and more convoluted and she needs all her wits about her, and those of her team as well as assistance from an old colleague, to get to the bottom of things. At the same time, at her mother's funeral, she meets her twin sister, Helena. It's obvious that Helena's life has been very different from Geraldine's and Helena definitely has a score to settle, as Geraldine herself starts to unravel with everything going on, will Helena's appearance be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention nicely and I finished mostly satisfied. I say mostly, I did have a few niggles that I wasn't happy with during the book. A couple of procedural things, a slight continuity discrepancy and something that, to me, was a bit of an impossibility. That said, all the things I noticed were all integral to the actual plot and so I think I can forgive and write them off as poetic license. I was definitely able to move on from them and carry on reading so they can't have been that bad!
Pacing as always, was good. The story gets on with itself very nicely both with respect to the main crime and also Geraldine's ongoing personal strife. Characters were also well described and easy to emote with / relate to.
As already mentioned, it gripped me very well and I read it start to finish in just one day. I am so familiar with the author's style and characters that starting one of her books is like slipping into an already familiar world, one that you have been wanting to come back to.
All in all, another good addition to this series. That's three good series now for this author.
My thanks go to Netgalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this book.
So, charity shop workers make a gruesome discovery when they open up one morning. There's a body in a wheelie-bin. Enter DI Geraldine Steel to investigate. She is a bit pre-occupied with a lot of personal stuff going on in her life at the moment, but not too distracted that she doesn't give the investigation all she has. And that takes some doing because as things unwind, it gets more and more convoluted and she needs all her wits about her, and those of her team as well as assistance from an old colleague, to get to the bottom of things. At the same time, at her mother's funeral, she meets her twin sister, Helena. It's obvious that Helena's life has been very different from Geraldine's and Helena definitely has a score to settle, as Geraldine herself starts to unravel with everything going on, will Helena's appearance be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention nicely and I finished mostly satisfied. I say mostly, I did have a few niggles that I wasn't happy with during the book. A couple of procedural things, a slight continuity discrepancy and something that, to me, was a bit of an impossibility. That said, all the things I noticed were all integral to the actual plot and so I think I can forgive and write them off as poetic license. I was definitely able to move on from them and carry on reading so they can't have been that bad!
Pacing as always, was good. The story gets on with itself very nicely both with respect to the main crime and also Geraldine's ongoing personal strife. Characters were also well described and easy to emote with / relate to.
As already mentioned, it gripped me very well and I read it start to finish in just one day. I am so familiar with the author's style and characters that starting one of her books is like slipping into an already familiar world, one that you have been wanting to come back to.
All in all, another good addition to this series. That's three good series now for this author.
My thanks go to Netgalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this book.
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