This book is partly based on a historical event and partly fiction. I didn’t know anything about the history of the pioneering settlers on which this story was based and so this book was pure fiction for me.
A group of ninety settlers are heading west on a trail across America. They want to get from the east coast to California and are in covered wagons, with horses, mules and oxen accompanying them. There are families, lone men and some lone women with children. Winter is approaching and they decide to take a little known short cut to try to get over the mountains before the snow comes. Basically, it all falls apart. The journey is long and hard. Due to the hardships, divisions rise up amongst the families, people shoot their neighbours, old feuds are re-ignited (mostly between the men) and the group splinters into factions. There are infidelities. There is incest and abuse. Most of the characters seem to have dark secrets they are trying to run away from but the reality is they’ve brought all that baggage with them. In fact, there are so many dark secrets, I began to lose count. Then there is the difficulty of the terrain they are crossing. The terrain is vast with few outposts. It’s a lawless zone. Under poor leadership, they decide to take a little charted trail to cut down on time. This involves crossing a desert where most of their cattle die and the oxen go mad with thirst. Finally, the winter comes on them before they have crossed the mountains and they are trapped with little food and men who are at each other’s throats. In the background of the story there’s a supernatural/horror element. Something or someone seems to be stalking the wagon train and picking off weak members. Children go missing. Mutilated bodies are found. Though, as I understand it, there was an allegation of cannibalism in the historical Donner story, the horror element is the part which diverges from historical facts. The deaths and the feeling of being tracked are layered onto the already plummeting fortunes of the group. This was very well done in parts. At other times, I felt it was impossible to retain the tension at such a high level without the need to shovel in even more dark secrets and more murders. For me, one strength was the depth of the main characters – Charles Stanton, Donner, Keseberg, Reed, Thomas, Mary, Elitha, Tamsen – to name a few. However, there were far too many characters for my liking and it was difficult to distinguish between them, especially in the first half of the book. Another strength was the quality of the writing. Also a strength was the way the author portrayed the historical setting and the atmosphere of the pioneers setting out on a mad adventure into the unknown. However, there were a few weaknesses – as I mentioned - too many characters, also an unending series of horrible mutilations and deaths - so that by the end, every character I actually liked ended up dying in nasty ways. Who was there left to root for? Well, no one really. Also, there were one or two side stories that hardly made sense and letters that were written where it was difficult to fathom who sent them (and to whom) and when (before or after certain individuals left the wagon train to set out on their own). This is a difficult one to rate. Here is my overall breakdown - 5 stars for writing quality, characterisation and atmosphere. 2 stars for the ending and 3 stars for the thriller element. That makes something like 4 stars overall. (Bottom line – I enjoyed it. It’s worth reading because it’s unique, but watch out for the pitfalls.) That makes something like 4 stars overall. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. This is my honest review. If you enjoy reading these reviews, please pop over and 'like' my Facebook Page - thank you! https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharryAuthor/
0 Comments
Another great thriller starring DI Kim Stone and her team.
This story addresses difficult issues- including sex workers, child prostitutes and the exploitation of immigrant workers. Well done to Angela Marsons for pulling it all together into a fast read that had me turning the pages. As usual, Kim is outstanding in her morals and has to (occasionally) go against the rules in the name of justice. The members of her team get a bigger share of the story in this one, with Dawson and Stacey involved in the case of an abandoned baby and migrant workers, whilst Kim and Bryant are investigating the murder of a number of women. There’s also the case of a missing teenager that is thrown in and we follow the teenager’s story which becomes more and more gripping as time goes on. All of the threads come together in surprising ways and Kim has the insight to join up the dots and find out the real killers. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry In this thriller, we know who the killer is right from the beginning. The story is about how he selects and then reels in his next victim. The tension mounts as he gets closer to his goal.
His next victim is going to be Emily. Emily is the daughter of DI Gravel. DI Gravel has been investigating the murder of a string of young women and the detective has no clues to the identity of the killer. The police are sure the same person raped and murdered all of the women, and it seems he dyed their hair and dressed them in old-fashioned clothes, before dumping them in the countryside. DI Gravel is pleased when his daughter, Emily, tells him she has decided to move back to his area. She has been taken on at a respectable, local solicitors - not knowing that the killer is the main partner of the practice. We watch as Grav’s daughter steps closer and closer to tragedy. The solicitor is charming and seductive and she almost falls for his charms, even though her instincts are telling her to keep her distance. They work together, they date, and he manipulates her into situations she can’t avoid. There are some graphic, violent scenes. The author is an expert at crawling inside the mind of the killer and this was the part of the book that I found the strongest (in fact, it made the police procedural aspects fade into the distance.) A fast-paced thriller and a quick, compelling read. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry In the school holidays, I visited my sister in London and we went to the Kew Gardens Thailand Orchid Festival.
Stunning! A death takes place in the small village of Three Pines in the Canadian countryside.
The death could have been a hunting accident but murder is suspected. The man in charge of investigating is Chief Inspector Gamache. Gamache reminded me of Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie), because he is older, a little old-fashioned and a little quirky/eccentric. People admire Gamache and he’s well known for solving difficult cases. Gamache is joined in Three Pines by his loyal assistant, Beauvoir, and a new recruit, Yvette Nichol. Yvette is complicated and headstrong, yet keen to impress the Inspector. She will bring an extra layer of intrigue to the case. Gamache and his team set up their base in Three Pines. We get to know the small, close-knit group of residents. They all knew the victim, Jane Neal. Jane was well-liked and popular and she grew up in Three Pines. Some of the residents are new and some of them were born there. We will get to know each of them and their strengths, kindnesses, lies and secrets, as Gamache and his team unravel what is really going on in the small village. This is a slow-paced, really well written book. There are lots of details and humorous moments. The birds-eye view of Three Pines and the history and secrets that lie behind the lives of a bunch of seemingly ordinary people, are as important, and enjoyable, as the mystery itself. A great discovery and I look forward to reading more in this series. 5 stars. To keep up-to-date with new reviews, remember to follow me on Facebook or Goodreads https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry https://www.goodreads.com/AnnGirdharry 'Nothing ordinary about this story. Could not put it down.' 5/5 Amazon review for GOOD GIRL BAD GIRL. Thank you, Diana!
You can find it here |
My Books
Join my Reader's Group for news, promotions and upcoming Releases.. |