Amy
D R A M A !! Good lord.
I listened to an audiobook version of this while driving all over British Columbia. I like the story, but the narrator does such a god awful job with men's characters, it kind of ruined it for me a bit. Had I physically read it, it may have gotten a solid 4. Either way, I will be reading (or perhaps listening to) the sequel.
Super predictable Christmas fluff but I did enjoy it. Sometimes I need a break from all the murder mysteries I read, y'know?
The best one yet! Worth it for the last chapter alone. I'm SO glad she's decided to continue beyond the original trilogy- she evokes the period so well and the Mary/James pairing is pretty much my new drug. Yup. Hurry up forth book!
What I was promised going into this book: mystery, conspiracy, secret societies, murder, a touch of the supernatural and Prague. Sounds awesome, right? But for me it just fell so short of the mark, and what I actually got was 432 pages of anti-climactic boredom. And the ending...was pretty much a non ending in my opinion. The “shocker” was obvious from the start and I feel as though nothing was really wrapped up. Which I hope does not mean there will be a sequel, because I can't do another 500 pages of this just to satisfy a few questions I think the reader more than earned the answers to after slogging through this book.
It may have taken me a year exactly to finish this book, but not because the book itself didn't hold my attention...just blame it on a growing stack of must-reads from my public library addiction. Although bits here and there did seem a bit long winded, in hindsight I would not wish for any of them to have been edited out. I have to agree with everyone who calls Murakami a genius- this is unlike anything else I have ever read and I will most certainly be reading more of his.
A much, much darker read than I usually go for but despite that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pollock does a wonderful job of humanizing his psychopaths and his pacing is spot on. Highly recommended for those with strong stomachs.