Not up to his usual standard

I am a massive fan of Chris Brookmyre but unfortunately this book disappoints. One reason is that the massive twist near the end is so easy to guess - won't say more as it would be a spoiler. However, even before this, his attempts to marry two genres, the Miss Marple-style old lady solving crimes with the hard-boiled American cop style just jars, even later when you know the reason for it, but especially in the earlier part of the book. The narrators try hard but when you have the female narrator comfortable with the upper class Scottish accent trying to transform into the hard-bitten cop and the male narrator obviously more used to the Sam Spade type of narrative trying to ape the soft Scottish accent, it just doesn't work. Sorry, Chris, this experiment just didn't work for me

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Really good book

The story took a while to get into but paid off in the end. The narration was really good

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A difficult one to review

My heart sunk when I thought it might be a 'cosy murder' but I persisted and it was worthwhile. The difficult of reviewing it is that referencing Brookmyre's previous work and others he has alluded to would give it all away. But an excellent and satisfying listen.

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Engrossing

I really enjoyed The Cracked Mirror - it was such an absorbing plot and the two main characters were well written. Demands concentration but well worth the investment. A big shout out to the two narrators who did a brilliant job.

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1 person found this helpful

Love Chris Brookmyre, this left me wanting

the narration of the books is absolutely fantastic. the females voice when narrating the American man can get grating but overall great.

the story however. oooft. it starts off intriguing and with good development but at best you can see what is coming about halfway through, at worst it employs the cardinal sin of any work of fiction. once it is confirmed, the last hour or so was a slog.

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Winner!

It's no wonder this won the 2024 Mcilvanney Prize! It's 2 stories woven into one. It's fast paced. It's got great characters and it's narration is fantastic. Nice one Chris !

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1 person found this helpful

Unusual concept great story

Great book not your usual crime thriller slightly spoiled for me because I guessed the twist quite early on. Didn’t guess the ending though :)

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Not the best

It had its moments but far from being anywhere near a Brookmyre classic.
Very convoluted plot
I gave up with more than an hour to go

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Great story that ends up getting muddled and derivative by the ending.

Genuinely likable characters, a fantastic set up and a really intriguing mystery. This book had everything… but then it started to get very muddled and a little bit too clever for its own good. It also started telegraphing the ending with twists and turns that felt contrived and derivative. The ending in particular felt like something I had read many times before, it also slightly undermined all the character building that had come before. I think this would’ve been a much better beginning of a series had the author not decided to opt for the final twist.

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Maverick PI meets Miss Marple

A fabulous Brookmyer ride weaving the two main characters together with a not too surprising main twist. Beautifully crafted, great narration and a satisfying end. You can't go wrong with this author.

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