jacqueline

I love Karin Slaughter's books and think it would be impossible for her to write badly, but this one didn't grab me. Maybe it is the focus on different characters than is the norm. Maybe it is the setting of gangs in Atlanta. Maybe it is the fact that some characters made me feel repulsed. Maybe it is the rather confusing plot. Maybe it is a mix of all of those plus the fact the narrator's delivery in a high pitched perky voice. I didn't hate this one but didn't love it either.

This is the second book I have tried by this writer. I didn't like the first one but was willing to give her a second chance. I should have known better! To call this 'crime fiction' is quite a stretch. There is 10% police story but most of the book is best described as domestic detail - chapters and chapters about the cuteness of their baby or Erika choosing her wedding dress or some other tedious information. I started fast forwarding through those bits I was getting so bored. The characters are wooden stereotypes - the humourless but oh so PC hero husband, the ridiculous boss. I suspect the narrator made it worse. His jolly, breezy tone would be more appropriate to a children's book.

All in all, a badly written, wooden book full of tedious fluff. Avoid!

This is a very disappointing book. I only listened to the whole thing as I had paid for it but it didn't get better and I won't be investing in any other Camilla Lackberg novels. The writing quality is not good. It's rubbishy and reads like a chick-lit 'crime novel' written by a teenager. Most of it is about babies rather than being a crime novel and the characters are more than wooden - they come across as smug and unreal (not to mention annoying). The narrator is a terrible match too - he has a tone of jollyness all the way through which is not a good fit. All in all, I wish I hadn't forked out anything for this book, it didn't deserve it.