Brief Book Reviews
Brief Book Reviews
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Brief Book Review - Syndicate by Felix Francis
A Brief Book Review of Syndicate by Felix Francis.
Chester Newton is a successful race horse syndicate organiser whose company Victrix Racing is doing well and has just won a major classic race, the Epsom Derby with their star horse ,Potassium. All is going well for Chester until he receives a call asking him to fix a race and threatening his family.
Can Chester discover the person/persons behind the threats to his family ?
Another good horse racing based thriller from Felix Francis.
#book #booksummary #bookreview
Available as a Hardback on Amazon.co.uk
amzn.to/4goNOUu
Available on Kindle
amzn.to/408xwtj
Available on Audible
amzn.to/41PTDWD
Available on Books A Million :
yazing.com/deals/booksamillion/Cryptocodger
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This video and description may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I will receive a small commission. I won't put anything here that I haven't verified and/or personally used myself
มุมมอง: 18

วีดีโอ

Brief Book Review - Murder Island by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
มุมมอง 3416 ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา
A Brief Book Review of Murder Island by James Patterson and Brian Sitts. Paradise is about to become a nightmare.... It's another outing for Brandt "Doc" Savage and Kira Sunlight. This time Doc and Kira avoid some hired killers and flee to remote island where peace and tranquillity prevails. Soon that peace is disturbed with Doc being framed for murder and Kira disappearing. Can Doc escape and ...
Brief Book Review - The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
มุมมอง 6114 วันที่ผ่านมา
A Brief Book Review of The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose ( A Novella). It's another outing for Molly The Maid - Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Christmas is approaching and Molly has her list compiled , namely : Deck Halls Dust Off Decorations Buy Secret Santa Gift Solve Mystery Solve Mystery ? Something strange is going on in Molly land with her partner Juan Manuel acting completely ou...
Brief Book Review - The Dark Wives by Anne Cleeves
มุมมอง 5121 วันที่ผ่านมา
A Brief Book Review of The Dark Wives by Anne Cleeves. A local myth , a deadly threat.... It's another outing ( number 11) for Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope. This time the body of a care worker is found outside a care home , one of the children in the care home is missing , are these events connected ? Vera and her team get to work when soon there is another body found , near The Dark Wives...
Brief Book Review - Murder Under The Mistletoe by The Reverend Richard Coles
มุมมอง 15128 วันที่ผ่านมา
A Brief Book Review of Murder Under The Mistletoe by The Reverend Richard Coles. A festive gathering . A secret recipe. A Christmas killer..... It's another outing for mystery solving Canon Daniel Clement and his friend DS Neil Vanloo. This time a with Christmas theme where a mix of different people are eating Christmas dinner at the Champton St.Mary rectory. After dinner there are games and ki...
Brief Book Review - The Christmas Stocking Murders by Denzil Meyrick
มุมมอง 61หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of The Christmas Stocking Murders by Denzil Meyrick. It's another outing for Inspector Frank Grasby ! This time Frank and his boss Juggers are tasked with solving a murder in a small, remote Yorkshire fishing village called Uthley Bay. A fisherman has been murdered with a stocking wrapped around his neck , swiftly followed by hundreds of cellophane wrapped stockings being wa...
Brief Book Review - To Die For by David Baldacci
มุมมอง 65หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of To Die For by David Baldacci. It's the third outing for the 0620 man , Travis Devine - this time tasked with protecting a 12 year old girl currently in FBI custody after the death of her parents. The girl's Uncle , currently on bail and a well known criminal is trying to get custody of the girl but the FBI is not sure that this is a great idea. A complicated scenario as T...
Brief Book Review - Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway
มุมมอง 182หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway ( A John Le Carré novel). Author Nick Harkaway , son of John Le Carré brings us a tale of Le Carré's most famous character, George Smiley. The tale starts in Spring 1963 where Smiley has left the Circus but is called back to do one simple job - interview a Hungarian lady called Susanna whose boss has disappeared and is being hunted by a Rus...
Brief Book Review - In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child
มุมมอง 276หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child. It's another adventure for the nemesis of bad guys and wrong 'uns everywhere - Jack Reacher ( Reacher 29). This time Reacher finds himself fighting a sophisticated group of art thieves with a sideline in cyber hacking. Add in a suspended cop bent on seeking revenge for her father's death at the hands of the art thieves and the in...
Brief Book Review - Cassino '44 by James Holland
มุมมอง 1492 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of Cassino '44 by James Holland. The strapline says " Five Months Of Hell In Italy" - a meticulously researched , well written account of the Allies campaign in Italy in WW2 where in 1944 they came across resistance in the Gustav line , the strongest point being the Abbey of Monte Cassino. A description of the battles of attrition that took the lives of 75,000 troops and civ...
Brief Book Review - Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin
มุมมอง 1282 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of Midnight And Blue by Ian Rankin. John Rebus has spent his life as a detective putting Edinburgh's criminals behind bars - now he's joined them. Rebus is in HMP Edinburgh convicted of attempted murder and trying to survive as an ex policeman in a hostile environment. A murder occurs in a locked cell - can Rebus solve the murder in a hostile environment without his badge/au...
Brief Book Review - An Eye For An Eye by Jeffrey Archer
มุมมอง 1812 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of An Eye For An Eye by Jeffrey Archer. It's another adventure ( number 7) for Chief Superintendent William Warwick and Detective Inspector Ross Hogan. This time a British negotiator in an arms deal is falsely accused of murder and thrown into a Saudi jail. Meanwhile Warwick and his team are tasked with protecting a Saudi delegation to a UK Trade Show knowing that one of the...
Brief Book Review - One Of Us Is Dead by Peter James
มุมมอง 792 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of One Of Us Is Dead by Peter James. It's another adventure for Brighton's busiest detective - Detective Superintendent Roy Grace ! The story kicks off with a man attending his friend's funeral - he notices someone he knows six rows in front of him , trouble is this man died two years ago and he delivered his eulogy at the funeral ! The story leads Grace and his team into a ...
Brief Book Review - The Examiner by Janice Hallett
มุมมอง 1573 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of The Examiner by Janice Hallett. Six students.One Murder. Your time starts now........... The Royal Hastings University is running a Multimedia Art MA course - six students are enrolled on the course . The Examiner is convinced that something isn't quite right and that one of the six has been murdered , with the others covering up the fact. Read on to find out what really ...
Brief Book Review - We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
มุมมอง 4163 หลายเดือนก่อน
A Brief Book Review of We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. It's a new series from the author of the popular Thursday Murder Club series , this time featuring a retired detective , Steve Wheeler and his daughter-in-law Amy Wheeler. Amy is protecting a famous author ,Rosie D'Antonio when she discovers that she is also a target and needs help. Amy can only trust one person so asks Steve to help. Th...
Brief Book Review - The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
มุมมอง 5163 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
Brief Book Review - Safe Enough by Lee Child
มุมมอง 2193 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - Safe Enough by Lee Child
Brief Book Review - I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
มุมมอง 843 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
Brief Book Review - The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster
มุมมอง 644 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster
Brief Book Review - Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
มุมมอง 1064 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
Brief Book Review - The Negotiator by Brooke Robinson
มุมมอง 1064 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Negotiator by Brooke Robinson
Brief Book Review - First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks
มุมมอง 764 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks
Brief Book Review - What Have You Done ? by Shari Lapena
มุมมอง 1155 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - What Have You Done ? by Shari Lapena
Brief Book Review - Breaking The Dark by Lisa Jewell
มุมมอง 2325 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - Breaking The Dark by Lisa Jewell
Brief Book Review - The Missing Family by Tim Weaver
มุมมอง 925 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Missing Family by Tim Weaver
Brief Book Review - The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham
มุมมอง 715 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham
Brief Book Review - This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter
มุมมอง 1726 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter
Brief Book Review - The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
มุมมอง 1366 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Brief Book Review - Camino Ghosts by John Grisham
มุมมอง 4896 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - Camino Ghosts by John Grisham
Brief Book Review - Think Twice by Harlan Coben
มุมมอง 2406 หลายเดือนก่อน
Brief Book Review - Think Twice by Harlan Coben

ความคิดเห็น

  • @extraHERO
    @extraHERO 3 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I'm surprised you haven't reviewed any of the Robert Galbraith books they are shockingly good

  • @22barsi
    @22barsi 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Thank you for all your book reviews! You have helped me so much in starting my new book collection and getting my sister to also start reading! You truly are the best😄😄

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Thanks for the feedback on the channel - much appreciated

  • @davidpearlactorteacherbizman
    @davidpearlactorteacherbizman 8 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Fantastic book. Great look at postwar Germany

  • @stephaniesportraits7421
    @stephaniesportraits7421 10 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Just finished this and enjoyed it thoroughly. Spot on review!

  • @marieallen9715
    @marieallen9715 12 วันที่ผ่านมา

    I cannot understand how anyone can be happy with Andrew Child taking over the Reacher books. The plots are awful, this isn't the Reacher we know - it would have been better to kill him off rather than this slow, boring deterioration. I've tried with each one (won't buy them now, get them from Library) and this last one I got 2 chapters in before I gave up.

  • @karenschmidt3793
    @karenschmidt3793 15 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Great review! I really like your channel. 😊

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 14 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated

  • @johngrimshaw7193
    @johngrimshaw7193 21 วันที่ผ่านมา

    my wife just got me this book for my birthday. Cant wait to relax and read it and your review made me more excited Thanks

  • @nadezhdablagodeteleva2937
    @nadezhdablagodeteleva2937 29 วันที่ผ่านมา

    👍👍👍❤❤❤

  • @Hansa7122
    @Hansa7122 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Grisham is a beautiful storyteller.

  • @Hansa7122
    @Hansa7122 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Wow, panther resorts, fascinating.

  • @martaduarte9048
    @martaduarte9048 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just started reading this book. thanks so much for the review! keep on going! will keep an eye on your work.

  • @AlexandruTaradaciuc
    @AlexandruTaradaciuc หลายเดือนก่อน

    I've really enjoyed reading all the Reacher books so far, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The storyline had a few gaps, and I found myself wondering about certain details-like where the memory stick suddenly came from. I took my time with it, reading over a couple of weeks, so it's possible I missed a few things, but it did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Still, I'm hopeful that next year's book will bring back that extra thrill and keep us hooked from start to finish.

  • @daddyjay6375
    @daddyjay6375 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Good job!

  • @NerdishlyActive
    @NerdishlyActive 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great review! Appreciate the personal interest you shared. And it’s good to throw in some nonfiction from time to time.

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated

  • @Golds174
    @Golds174 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great review, thank you.

  • @amandaraath3438
    @amandaraath3438 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Fantastic review, excited to read it!

  • @gamesofbeautyz8228
    @gamesofbeautyz8228 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    👍

  • @IamShakurkadri
    @IamShakurkadri 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hi, I've watched most of your videos. I'm so much impressed by the quality of your contents. I think, you deserve more engagements.

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the feedback , much appreciated

    • @IamShakurkadri
      @IamShakurkadri 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@briefbookreviews4133you are always welcome. Btw if you are interested, I can help you.

  • @NerdishlyActive
    @NerdishlyActive 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Really love your book reviews! And you read super fast too. Awesome 👍🏼

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated

  • @StefanTrifonov-t4r
    @StefanTrifonov-t4r 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I really like your series. Your reviews are personal and informative. Keep going!

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for your feedback,much appreciated

  • @benlomas1490
    @benlomas1490 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love Bob !

  • @NS-pw1mv
    @NS-pw1mv 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    That’s what I needed to know before buying the audiobook. Thank you!

  • @fidelogos7098
    @fidelogos7098 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm American and know Bob only though Britbox streaming and TH-cam videos of Would I Lie To You. I've watched his lies over and over again and they still send me into hysterics. I believe it was Gary Cheeseman whose head was a "sniper's dream"! And though I don't drink beer, I'd buy a six pack of Kiss The Alderman if I saw it at the store. Now I have to read his books! Thanks for this review!

  • @JoelBookReview
    @JoelBookReview 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thx! Now im going to read this

  • @flufftronable
    @flufftronable 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I enjoyed this book. It was a great review.

  • @jonnyli12
    @jonnyli12 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just a long comment just to get wrong in the title of the book. You are a joke.

  • @majorsparklez3147
    @majorsparklez3147 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    thank you for the review sir could you suggest me a few books of Jeffery archer

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      That's a tricky one as Archer has a large back catalogue. I have enjoyed his recent Detective William Warwick books - the most recent being Traitor's Gate and Next In Line ( both reviewed on the channel).

  • @soulbeach7705
    @soulbeach7705 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Good afternoon, I saw this book in a bookstore today and wanted to check the ratings before buying it. Thank you for sharing your opinion on the book, I found this video to be very interesting and I am excited to see more videos of yours :) Kind regards, Victoria

  • @BasV08
    @BasV08 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    hello

  • @mariac.b-rivoir5790
    @mariac.b-rivoir5790 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you, nice to hear your mind about the book.

  • @uktruecrime
    @uktruecrime 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Lol, a rare find, someone that gets the private eye annual. No cigar though as you have to admit to buying it yourself. I have a magazine sub, hilarious stuff, but I don't get the annual. I thought it was more of an urban tale that they did it.

  • @Souravbasu2
    @Souravbasu2 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    hello there Your video quality is very good. I have reviewed your TH-cam channel and videos and have noticed some potential suggestions that could help increase your video views and subscriber count. I would be glad to discuss further if you are interested.

  • @pembie2
    @pembie2 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hi what number is this book in series I’m on the book about the Shoe Man at the moment but want to catch up so I can read about Sandy

    • @briefbookreviews4133
      @briefbookreviews4133 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The last Roy Grace story, Stop Them Dead was the 19th Grace story , the next one to be released in September 2024 ( One Of Us Is Dead) is the 20th Grace story. They Thought I Was Dead is Sandy's story and thus not technically a Roy Grace story although of course, he is a peripheral character in the book. So this book was issued after Grace 19 and before Grace 20. - hope this helps!

    • @pembie2
      @pembie2 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks seems I have alot to catch up with I’m on book 6 lol

  • @thebrianclan
    @thebrianclan 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you for your review. I’m about half way through the book. It’s thoroughly enjoyable.

  • @anthonyclegg1511
    @anthonyclegg1511 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just reading Coastliners by JH. Wonderful author who got me reading again. ❤️. Thank you.

  • @booklover90321
    @booklover90321 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Read Dreams in Incarceration

  • @janetmaxwell222
    @janetmaxwell222 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you for this. I have just purchased this book and am about to start it. Different cover here in Canada.

  • @the_movies_for_me
    @the_movies_for_me 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Been meaning to read this book, good to hear your thoughts

  • @md.raqibulislam1617
    @md.raqibulislam1617 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Are you interested in discussing how to grow your channel, share your informative video and earn from monetization?

  • @PeanutFactory14
    @PeanutFactory14 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you ✌🏼

  • @dorasantosmarques
    @dorasantosmarques 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Greetings from Portugal! Just checking your review. Finished the book yesterday :)

  • @Kazi_Ashiqul_Haque
    @Kazi_Ashiqul_Haque 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Your content is exceptional. I highly recommend focusing on optimizing your TH-cam videos for search engines, also known as TH-cam SEO. TH-cam SEO involves improving your videos to rank higher in search results and increase their visibility. To start, conduct thorough research to identify relevant keywords for your content and incorporate them into your video title, description, and tags. It is crucial to create eye-catching thumbnails and compelling titles that will attract viewers to click. Encourage your audience to engage with your videos by liking, commenting, and subscribing, as this will greatly improve your rankings. Consistency is key when it comes to posting and promoting your videos on various social media platforms. Additionally, ensure that you optimize your channel by completing all profile sections and organizing your videos into playlists. Regularly monitoring analytics will enable you to track your performance and make necessary adjustments to your strategy.

  • @markrichter2053
    @markrichter2053 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Missing Pieces By Tim Weaver Review 2 out of 10. I’ve listened to about halfway and I’m gripped. so, why have I only given it 2 out of 10? Read on and you’ll see. It begins as a well written suspenseful thriller, a gripping present tense story of Rebeka, a medical doctor and mother, trapped on a small island in the Atlantic off the North American coast in winter and her gritty struggle for survival. It’s also a murder mystery, artfully interwoven with her reflections on the backstory, which slowly provides the reader with the context of her physical circumstances, how she ended up trapped on the island afraid for her life, while also contextualising her psychology. We’re drip-fed information and simultaneously told a ripping yarn. So far this is great stuff. So far, there have been a few sections written from the perspective of a New York missing persons police investigator who feels, as he approaches imminent retirement, that he can’t let go of a particularly mysterious case. But, as yet, there’s no apparent link between this case and the circumstances of the main protagonist. We just sense that there must be a connection… The main character is believable and she is the only fleshed out character in the first section of the book. Although other characters who are important in her life are well described in her thoughts, the focus is entirely upon her in the first half. This exclusive focus on her thoughts and actions places us firmly in the intense headspace of a lonely woman’s struggle for survival. Rebecca is both believable and empathetic. My only grouch at this point is that a few of her actions are surprising. She is surviving on her wits and demonstrates some hard headedness. However when she finds a speedboat she succeeds in launching it before provisioning it or even checking it’s fuelled and functional and then allows her only realistic means of escape from the island to drift off overnight because she hasn’t teathered it securely. This doesn’t fit in with her other practical behaviours. There’s also the issue of changing the wheel on her vehicle, because she finds an old tyre that matches. There’s no explanation of how she got this replacement tyre onto the wheel. A matching tyre just becomes synonymous with a replacement wheel in the narrative, as though the writer hasn’t realised there’s a difference, because there’s no explanation of how she got this tyre onto her wheel and inflated it. These may seem minor practicalities, but, because they are significant for her survival effort, they matter to the reader. One makes her uncharacteristically stupid, the other just makes no sense in the practical description. However, I shall read on. I hope the police investigator’s perspective is as exciting. Later on the story gets more implausible. I’ve read further now. She’s had months to plan her bid for freedom. She’s trained for the moment. She has her attacker within her power and she fails to act. A second blow of the wrench and she could neutralise the threat and pick up his weapon to defend herself against the second man. She fails to do either. She leaves the first man capable of getting back up and leaves his gun on the floor next to him. These are omissions of such total stupidity that I lost interest in her as a character at this point and stopped listening. Also she forgets that the tyre on the jeep was slashed and so leaves a big clue for her pursuers, because she replaced it with a new one. The reader anticipates this and it makes little sense that a smart character fails to do the same. I think most of her stupid mistakes are simply clumsy contrivances by the author to ratchet up the jeopardy. But in the process we loose sympathy for the character of Rebeka. At this point I wanted the author to just put her out of her misery and have the villain shoot her. As, with four whole hours left of the recording, he wasn’t about to do this, I had to do it for him and free myself from this miserable experience and do something more rewarding. Of course, macho heroes like Jack Reacher are equally implausible. But they at least have the advantage of being the hero we all wish we could be. So although he achieves absurdities, we at least get the feeling that he’ll give it his best when it matters. But the happy medium for me has been the Rory Clements books, and his hero Tom Wilde. These contain a sufficient amount of realism in character and plot, have the interest of being of a 1930s-1940s historical setting and have a main character who is sympathetic, developing, has real personal struggles, often fails, often succeeds because others save him, but in the end he’s not an idiot. It’s really hard to sustain interest in an idiot. So the book gets its two rating because it grabbed me from the outset and I respect this. And the mystery itself is intriguing, if implausible. But that’s it. The failure of the author to engage intelligently with the practical issues that challenge the survival of our protagonist is annoying. The failure of the character to do so at key moments is not only deeply frustrating but erodes our tolerance for her as a character. And without our investment in Rebekah’s character, there’s nothing to make us want to read on to find the answer to the mystery.

  • @markrichter2053
    @markrichter2053 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Why is the camera on the other side of the long table and his head in shadow, in a large echoey room with plain white background?

  • @markrichter2053
    @markrichter2053 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Missing Pieces By Tim Weaver Review 2 out of 10. I’ve listened to about halfway and I’m gripped. so, why have I only given it 2 out of 10? Read on and you’ll understand. It begins as a well written suspenseful thriller, a gripping present tense story of Rebeka, a medical doctor and mother, trapped on a small island in the Atlantic off the North American coast in winter and her gritty struggle for survival. It’s also a murder mystery, artfully interwoven with her reflections on the backstory, which slowly provides the reader with the context of her physical circumstances, how she ended up trapped on the island afraid for her life, while also contextualising her psychology. We’re drip-fed information and simultaneously told a ripping yarn. So far this is great stuff. So far, there have been a few few sections written from the perspective of a New York missing persons police investigator who feels, as he approaches imminent retirement, that he can’t let go of a particularly mysterious case. But, as yet, there’s no apparent link between this case and the circumstances of the main protagonist. We just sense that there must be a connection… The main character is believable and she is the only fleshed out character in the first section of the book. Although other characters who are important in her life are well described in her thoughts, the focus is entirely upon her in the first half. This exclusive focus on her thoughts and actions places us firmly in the intense headspace of a lonely woman’s struggle for survival. Rebecca is both believable and empathetic. My only grouch at this point is that a few of her actions are surprising. She is surviving on her wits and demonstrates some hard headedness. However when she finds a speedboat she succeeds in launching it before provisioning it or even checking it’s fuelled and functional and then allows her only realistic means of escape from the island to drift off overnight because she hasn’t teathered it securely. This doesn’t fit in with her other practical behaviours. There’s also the issue of changing the wheel on her vehicle, because she finds an old tyre that matches. There’s no explanation of how she got this replacement tyre onto the wheel. A matching tyre just becomes synonymous with a replacement wheel in the narrative, as though the writer hasn’t realised there’s a difference, because there’s no explanation of how she got this tyre onto her wheel and inflated it. These may seem minor practicalities, but, because they are significant for her survival effort, they matter to the reader. One makes her uncharacteristically stupid, the other just makes no sense in the practical description. However, I shall read on. I hope the police investigator’s perspective is as exciting. Later on the story gets more implausible. I’ve read further now. She’s had months to plan her bid for freedom. She’s trained for the moment. She has her attacker within her power and she fails to act. A second blow of the wrench and she could neutralise the threat and pick up his weapon to defend herself against the second man. She fails to do either. She leaves the first man capable of getting back up and leaves his gun on the floor next to him. These are omissions of such total stupidity that I lost interest in her as a character at this point and stopped listening. Also she forgets that the tyre on the jeep was slashed and so leaves a big clue for her pursuers, because she replaced it with a new one. The reader anticipates this and it makes little sense that a smart character fails to do the same. I think most of her stupid mistakes are simply clumsy contrivances by the author to ratchet up the jeopardy. But in the process we loose sympathy for the character of Rebeka. At this point I wanted the author to just put her out of her misery and have the villain shoot her. As, with four whole hours left of the recording, he wasn’t about to do this, I had to do it for him and free myself from this miserable experience and do something more rewarding. Of course, macho heroes like Jack Reacher are equally implausible. But they at least have the advantage of being the hero we all wish we could be. So although he achieves absurdities, we at least get the feeling that he’ll give it his best when it matters. But the happy medium for me has been the Rory Clements books, and his hero Tom Wilde. These contain a sufficient amount of realism in character and plot, have the interest of being of a 1930s-1940s historical setting and have a main character who is sympathetic, developing, has real personal struggles, often fails, often succeeds because others save him, but in the end he’s not an idiot. It’s really hard to sustain interest in an idiot. So the book gets its two rating because it grabbed me from the outset and I respect this. But that’s it. The failure of the author to engage intelligently with the practical issues that challenge the survival of our protagonist is annoying. The failure of the character to do so at key moments is not only deeply frustrating but erodes our tolerance for her as a character. And without our investment in Rebekah’s character, there’s nothing to make us want to know more.

  • @angelaholmes8888
    @angelaholmes8888 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just finished reading the book i was surprised that i enjoyed this book definitely a big improvement from the previous three books karin did a good job ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  • @fergustregan3275
    @fergustregan3275 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Promo_SM 💖

  • @rickwilmot9127
    @rickwilmot9127 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Interesting. I put a review on Goodreads and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The missing star was because I don't think Jeremy Corbyn deserves a place in this gallery of rogues.

  • @daveygee434
    @daveygee434 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a bizarre score based on your feedback. Such a powerful book deserves a little more from your ‘review’.

  • @tarickw
    @tarickw 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    for a 6/10 your praise vs criticism is quite light on the criticism

    • @CovidIslandDiscs
      @CovidIslandDiscs 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yes would have liked to hear how he arrived at the 6. Clearly he must have disliked some components of the book.