I did not realize the story was set in the 19th century (I prefer regency era), which changes its content and sexual morals as well. I don’t enjoy reading books where the main characters are sleeping around. This being said i will be impartial in my review. I DO NOT summarize the story again in my reviews as many do. My reviews always have to do with what I want to know about a book before reading:
Overall rating: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars (lost a star due to some of the content mixed in with the plot that was unrelated and unnecessary - discussed below)
Mystery: 5 stars -well connected and you get hints to try to figure it out.
Content: 3 stars - sleeping around/porn literature described
Quality of writing: 5 stars - dialog smooth and flows well. Descriptions were natural and mostly added to the story. Overall great writing quality.
Language: R - the F word used several times. (I don’t really think that added to the story)
Clean rating: PG-13 to R (X rated material discussed in detail) - there are sex scenes but I would say they in themselves are not detailed any further than what you would see in a PG-13 or maybe R rated movie, which was better than I was expecting based on some of the content up to that point.. However, Pornographic material is included and detailed quite a bit and Thomas the main character enjoys it as well. Which leads to his sleeping with and desiring to sleep with about every loose woman in town.
Content that affected my ratings:
I didn’t like Thomas’ treatment and view of women, basically he uses one woman just for sex while desiring several other women as well who he would happily sleep with if given the chance. So I didn’t appreciate Thomas’ treatment & lack of true respect for females at all. At the beginning it seemed he loved his mother and did not respect his father who was a womanizer. His mother had been stricken by her husband’s (his father’s) continual infidelity, and yet Thomas who had felt sorry for what his mother suffered, was becoming the same type of man as his father, that did not fit with the set up.
I did like his other qualities though, his tenacity at wanting to solve the murders and view of doing what was right in other aspects of his life.
I don’t understand why the pornographic material was included in the book at all, other than it shows the damage it can cause to relationships and causing men to lust after every pretty woman they come across hoping to copy what they read. It did not add to the plot at all. The killing of the swans had no material value in the story in my opinion, and I skipped over much of the description of those supposed artistic representations of mythology (ancient porn), which led to understanding why the swans were killed. But again, no importance to the mystery or plot. All that could have been skipped.
Although at first I saw no value in the quoted book about Malamar, included within the story, it did later fit into the plot. So although that book which was read/quoted in this book, was awful (I skipped some of it as well), I see why it was included.
SUMMARY
Overall, if you don’t mind the content, then this book is VERY well written, and the plot in general was very good and the mystery was well done. I will not be reading anymore about Thomas as his morals are not what I prefer, but I imagine many would like this book regardless.
OR
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2024
Top reviews from other countries
- Sooz FReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2024
A gem of a book for a Northumbrian
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Very slow and plodding
