Starting a fun bonus question!
Random Question of the Review:
What’s something that you absolutely do not like in a book?
Dead in the Water by Simon Bower
Published: May 9, 2018
Publisher: Middle Farm Press
Pages: 404
Genres: mystery, suspense
Rating: 2 stars
Recommend to fans of: characters you can rage hate the entire book, mysteries set in Europe
Read with food: croissants ~ because France! And they sound delicious right now
Synopsis:
When the mystery is all but solved The thrilling race against evil truly begins.
A female corpse floating in the warm harbor water in the Mediterranean Sea. An unappreciated local detective, more acquainted with cases of petty vandalism than murder, is assigned to investigate – but he’s in failing health and time is against him. A Laguna Beach waitress finds lust in the Philippines, but is it love? A Geneva businessman lives the high life with his yacht on the Med – but is he capable of sustaining it?
A New York mother finally discovers who her father is, but it would not be long before she would regret ever searching. A Georgetown University law graduate is struggling to accept her philandering husband, starting to look elsewhere… And a down-on-his-luck Londoner finds love, lust and desire, but has he got the verve to prevail?
An international plot unfolds with increasing pace as eight lives become entangled in a dark snare with no-one safe from danger.
Review:
I won a ebook copy through Goodreads Giveaways for free. Thank you to Goodreads, the author and publisher. As always, an honest review.
Where do I begin with this book?
While the storyline does follow the summary given on Goodreads, there’s so much more to it than that. I think it overtakes the mystery.
The main aspect that I didn’t like was how smarmy so many of the male main characters act. Vulgar, offensive to women in the book, the complete opposite of a feminist, and generally cringe worthy all around. While characters do not have to be good people, I could not get over their awful behavior to focus on the mystery of the book. I was just constantly enraged by their appalling behavior. Also trigger warning for incest. Technically legal incest, but absolutely cringe worthy for me still. Also there are so many characters that are somewhat connected, but at times it felt hard to make sense of it all. Especially in the beginning.
Now onto the redeeming qualities, and yes there are some. The female POV chapters were interesting, especially the paternity storyline. I wish their chapters were longer. Also the author is clearly familiar with France, as his writing shines with a wonderful authenticity while the characters are traveling there.
Overall, the book is not my cup of tea. However it might be for you if you enjoy stories in which you love to hate certain characters. That’s not a bad thing at all, but not something I’m looking for in a book. I’ve found that personally I need to like, understand and connect with the main character to enjoy the book.
Books, Life and Everything Nice 