Russell's Reviews > Cold Grave

I attended a talk by the author when this book was first released. Kathryn Fox is a skilled presenter, and the disccusion of her investigations into the cruise ship industry convinced me to read the book. It took me a while to get my hands on a copy, and even longer to finish it! I started with an audiobook (for convenience) but had to return it unfinished. Finally, I tracked down a hard copy, which moved several times from bedside table to car and back again before I eventually sat down and read to the end. This detailed account of how I read the book best explains my response to it: it was worth reading, but plenty of other things got in the way - it wasn't the un-put-downable thriller or the intellectual detective novel I'd hoped for. The plot has enough twists and turns to make it interesting, without feeling too contrived. The forensic descriptions are authentic (the author has experience in forensic medicine) but the characters are mostly flat and stereotyped. I get the feeling that this isn't Fox's best work - she does seem a better writer than what we read in this book. She was correct about one thing: anyone who reads this book is likely to think twice about taking a cruise!