Holly Dykstra

I really wanted to like these books. I finished this one and even tried to read #2. The setting is wonderful - a perfect place to set a murder mystery: cozy, intimate, but also a little off. But somehow, I never connected with the characters. Jimmy Perez just didn't have a personality.

What's even more funny is that I tried to watch the shows that are based off these books, because I wanted to see more of the Shetland Islands - they changed many things in the TV show from the books, but even so, it's also impossible to connect with the characters!

I almost want to give this series a rating of 3, but there are some parts of this book that elevate it to a 4. The story never completely drew me in – the plot was a little too simple, the worldbuilding a little too sparse – but it had some uncommon themes that made the reading of it worthwhile. One was the main character's self-esteem issues: because of growing up in a community where she was regarded as a nuisance, she never assumed that other people would want to spend time with her. Lackey was sensitive to how this might affect a person in the long run, and it was very special and enjoyable to be able to relate to a very fierce main character on this level. Another particularly well-done part of these books was the sex, which wasn't the horribly flat and gendered version that normally exists in fantasy. In fact, Lackey seemed to take special care in writing one of the male characters, Kris, in the way that male authors often treat female characters, with his looks as his main identifying feature. Do I wish the love story could be less love-at-first-sight and more I-fell-in-love-with-you-as-a-whole-person? Yes, but I still looked forward to reading Talia and Dirk's interactions.

This book combines two of my favorite genres: it's a murder mystery about monks! I enjoyed the writing and the history, but the tone of the book is very negative... you could not call this book uplifting. For that reason, although he does a fantastic job with the historical detail, I can't continue with the series - I need something with a little bit more heart to read in my spare time.

This one was a fun read! It had a unique feel among her books - more of an international crime novel - but the characters were quite fleshed out and there were several different people's perspectives in the book. Poirot felt a little caricaturized (of course he always does, but more so here, maybe because it was an early book?) so I missed some of his more pointed reflections on human nature, but Katherine Grey made up for it.