Okay, so now having finished my first re-read of this book, I am so tempted to up the rating to five stars. A large portion of that desire comes from listening to the audio this time around. There’s something really satisfying about Robert Glenister’s voice narrating this story; it most definitely increased my enjoyment.
Another part is that this just feels like the ideal murder mystery to me right now. It was exactly what I was craving, plus some. I love all the clues and red herrings (and spotting them all this time was so much fun now that I knew what I was looking for); I love the atmosphere; I love the denouement (everybody who loves murder mysteries loves a good denouement). But I also love the characters here. And the little extra oomph you get when your book ties together thematically. (I was particularly impressed this time around with the ways that Robin/Matthew, Strike/Charlotte, and Leonora/Quine paralleled each other.)
I’m really having to hold myself back from downloading the third audiobook and just going to town on it, but that would be dumb, because I would then have even longer to wait for book four, which is apparently going to be the longest in the series. I’m still crossing my fingers for a late 2018 release date. Lethal White: November 2018. Make it happen, universe!
I’m sure there will be even more whinging on this topic when I do finally allow myself to re-read Career of Evil and experience that cliffhanger all over again.
This is a terrible review.
Here’s my original if you want something better. My thoughts still stand! Though, actually, reading it again, the book seems to have defeated me then as well. Will I ever be able to write a cogent review of this book? Shrug.
[4.5 stars]