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Nutshell
Nutshell
Ian McEwan | 2016 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
9.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ve never read any of Ian McEwan’s work before, but it seems like I started on a good one, because almost everyone is saying this is his best yet!

This has such an intriguing and unique plot, it would be hard to pass it up if you saw it in store. Are there actually <i>any</i> other novels out there told from the PoV of a foetus?

Considering no one actually knows what it’s like to be a foetus, that is to say, we’ve all been one, but we don’t remember back that far, I feel like McEwan really <i>got</i> what it’s like to be in the womb through the third trimester.. I wasn’t sure how anyone could write as an unborn child but it was done so well in this! The child was a very likable character, he was witty, intelligent and interesting - certainly not things I would think to associate with an unborn child.

The overall plot was certainly different and intriguing, but it wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. I didn’t expect this unborn child to be able to solve a murder or stop a crime etc, but I did think it was going to be more of a thriller mystery than it was. That’s not to the say that the plot made the story any less fun to read, I just had to alter my mindset into accepting this as a different sort of book.

Unfortunately for me, this didn’t move me as much as it has done other readers because this is a <i>Hamlet</i> retelling, but I’ve never read <i>Hamlet.</i> (I have pretty much no time for the “classics”, they tend to just bore me, there’s no way around that, I’m just not that kind of girl). So maybe some of the beauty of this was a bit lost on me?

Anyway, this was a very enjoyable read. A solid piece of fiction that has and will appeal to thousands.
  
The Black Midnight (True Crime #7)
The Black Midnight (True Crime #7)
Kathleen Y'Barbo | 2020 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
If you are a history lover and enjoy England, you will enjoy this book. Well, you will get a bit of a tour of London. Though we start in Austin, Texas. We are introduced to every strong Pinkerton detective and her partner. We seem to have unsolved murders in Texas. But our detectives seem to be quite busy otherwise while chasing down a killer.

Will Annie and her partner Isaiah solve the murders in Austin and London? Will they find the killer that is killing women in their beds in Austin and the connection with the killing in London? The queen seems to want her great-granddaughter to look into them with her friend from Texas.

The pages will make you want to read until the last page. You will be on your toes and turning or sliding your pages up reading until the end. Is the killer Jack the Ripper, or is it someone else? You will be trying to guess and figure out along with the Pinkerton detectives in their investigations.

I felt like I was investigating along with them trying to find the killer of the mysterious deaths. You do get pulled into experience the London along the way. Who or What is the Black Midnight? Is the Midnight Assassin the same person as The Black Midnight or Jack the Ripper?

All fans of historical fiction and crime will love this book and the series. It had me wanting more. It is in does go into details about investigations but not a lot into the deaths of killings. This is good in that way. What does the Prince want with his daughter? Why is he trying to bring his daughter home? Who is Annie Walters? Will she give herself away? What up with Cameron Blake and his reporting. Some entertaining story plots are going on. We go on as adventure with this one.