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The Crow Trap
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March 2018 Group Read: The Crow Trap, by Ann Cleeves
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Nancy, Co-Moderator
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Feb 28, 2018 01:36AM
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Ooh, I hadn't realised this had won. I'd better start reading it!I hope everybody enjoys!
That is my next book that I am going to read. I read the first chapter, but am trying to finish up an Erin Hart book first. Hopefully I will get to it by the end of the week.
I would like to read it , too.
Skye wrote: "Thanks, Thomas."You're Welcome
I’m about 80 percent in and enjoying it. Vera is a character that I’m having fun imagining as I haven’t seen the tv show.
I finished this one tonight and I thought it was a bit long for my taste with very little action. Not real sure if I would read another one.
Connie, her Shetland books must be very different.
Skye wrote: "Connie, her Shetland books must be very different."If you like plodding along books, then I am sure you would appreciate this one. I personally like it to move a faster.
No, Connie, I don't: in fact, lately I've been reading more and more books like that. I am in the other group ( Sue Grafton) but I think you should know that I couldn't put down Cold Earth. by Ann Cleeves; I loved it, and I adore the detective.
So I have to agree it did move slow but I didn't want to stop reading it so I got through it. I was ready for the ending but it took me a bit to figure out who it could be. We had a lot of choices!
It sounds good; I haven't read it.
Ami wrote: "So I have to agree it did move slow but I didn't want to stop reading it so I got through it. I was ready for the ending but it took me a bit to figure out who it could be. We had a lot of choices!"Yes, there were a lot of choices on this one. I did read this in about 3 days, but I just wanted to get through it, so I could move on to the next book. I did think that once Vera was introduced, things did move more quickly. The retelling from each person's perspective is what bogged this book down for me.
Just finished the book last night. I have to first of all confess that I love the ITV TV series Vera.Just like with her Shetland series, it took me quite a while to get into this book and start caring about the characters and I'm not sure I ever really did apart for Grace and Vera. I loved the description of Northumberland, the country and its people and whilst I knew some of Vera's back story, I didn't know all.
I though there were quite a lot of unbelievable red herrings in this book and it annoyed me quite a bit. They were obvious. Moreover, I am married to a scientist and know a lot of them and they would not act so immaturely. The end, I didn't quite believe this murderer could really have pulled it off.
Will I read another one, yes, but it better be good.
I have just put this on my Kindle to read after Career of Evil. I’m glad this was picked as it is the first in the series and I’m a little OCD about reDing them in order 😀.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is OCD about reading a series in order :)
I'm still in part one. My library didn't have a copy so I used an audible credit. On the map, there is something called Scull Bern. Can someone tell me how it's spelled? Also, what is a bern (burn)? I can't tell if it's a strip of land, or water, or maybe wetlands?
Ami wrote: "I’m glad I’m not the only one who is OCD about reading a series in order :)"Definitely not. I prefer it too, but for this one because of the TV series, for me it has already gone out of sink.
I'm almost finished. I really liked this book. I have not watched the series however I do know that the woman playing Vera does not fit the description in the book. Having said that again I really liked this book including all of the background information on the three women. I will read the next book in this series.
I was planning to read both books this month. I started with this one but I keep putting it down in favor of something else. I just finished a really beautiful book for a book club meeting so I guess my head is in a different place. Maybe I'll pick it up again later. I'll try the Grafton book instead.
I finished this morning and I really liked it. It was a bit slow in some places but on the whole it had a good story line and I was way off base on the killer which is always a nice surprise.
I finished this yesterday. I thought the ending seemed rather arbitrary, but I often feel that way with mysteries. If the characters are interesting, that's often more important to me. So, who were your favorite characters?
I liked each character better when we were reading their own point of view, though it took a while to warm up to Vera. I imagine that this book was very different for those who already knew Vera.
I liked Anne and I would have liked to read one more conversation between her and her married lover, or see some other kind of follow-up.
I felt bad for the way Grace grew up, and it doesn't seem realistic that there wasn't more gossip about how her grandmother and family abandoned her. It was such a small community and they were so well known. Especially after her death. Even a small community paper would be on top of that.
Come to think of it, I don't recall any type of press or news people in this book.
I just started listening to this and am about 20% in. I'll come back and read the comments in more detail and add mine when I'm finished. I noticed several people feel that it is "slow". I've read all of Cleeves' Shetland Island mysteries and I would say the same about those, although that is a favorite series of mine! Cleeves' quieter, more sedate writing draws me in for some reason.I also love the Vera tv series and will have the fabulous Brenda Blethyn in mind as I read the book!
NancyJ wrote: "I finished this yesterday. I thought the ending seemed rather arbitrary, but I often feel that way with mysteries. If the characters are interesting, that's often more important to me. So, who we..."
I agree the ending was strange and for me quite a bit arbitrary and unbelievable. I still don't quite understand why Grace got killed and I thought it was sad as she was my favourite character. Also thought it a bit strange that there wasn't more local coverage in some shape or form about that awful's family treatment of her. All in all there are quite a few problems with the book, but I'll give one more a try and then see.
Gisela wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I finished this yesterday. I thought the ending seemed rather arbitrary, but I often feel that way with mysteries. If the characters are interesting, that's often more important to m..."I too was sorry that Grace was killed. I really wanted to hear more of her story. I don't really see the motive for it. It would have made more sense to kill her father since he knew the secret.
spoiler alert
(view spoiler)
I don't think the author intended this to be a series when she started to wrote the book. I think she might have given us some background information to help us understand how Vera earned her position of power (and along with that, the right to disregard certain societal norms).
I'm still reading this one, but I do agree with everyone who has posted that it is a bit slow. While I do wish the build up was a little shorter, I don't find it uninteresting. Can't wait for Vera to come into it though. The comments have me very curious about the ending now.
Shanequa I think you’ll like the ending. I was glad to finally get there :) I may even read the next one now that I know her style.
I finally finished the book. I found the characters unlikeable, the plot moved way too slow, I ended up skipping past a lot of descriptive sections. I guess that English books are not my -cup of tea- as I have not yet read one English author that I've enjoyed. I AM grateful to this group, however, in that it expands my scope of the types of books I'm reading to other genres. Thank you.
NancyJ wrote: "I don't think the author intended this to be a series when she started to wrote the book. I think she might have given us some background information to help us understand how Vera earned her posit..."It would be interesting to know more Cleeves' intent with this book, Nancy. I would think that she did intend it to be a series since she had written two previous mystery series, one with 6 books and one with 8. My hunch is that Vera's backstory will evolve over the first few books as it did on the tv show. I am in love with Brenda Blethyn as Vera, but she does not match the description of her in the book. Sorta glad about that. :)
Yeah, in the book Vera described herself as being as ugly as a bag of nails. I haven't seen the TV show yet, but I really like Brenda Blethyn too (since Secrets and Lies).
Suzy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I don't think the author intended this to be a series when she started to wrote the book. I think she might have given us some background information to help us understand how Vera e..."I thought that TV and book Vera have similarities, but are quite different. I love both Brenda Blethyn and her character in the TV series, but they are quite different, so part of me would like to find out the difference. We'll see.
The same happended with her Shetland series, Jimmy Perez in the book and in the TV are quite different. As I read the books first and Perez background is quite important to his perception of himself and the island, which is also part of the people of Shetland's history, I found the TV Perez very different and really off-putting at first. But again, the TV is excellent, so reconciled myself to TV Perez. For what it is worth, I think this is quite a compliment to both Anne Cleeves writing and the producers her books seem to attract. There are a couple of American crime writers which have series and again the main characters are very different and I can't watch it as the TV series is really just not good enough.
Gisela wrote: "Suzy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I don't think the author intended this to be a series when she started to wrote the book. I think she might have given us some background information to help us understa..."I am a couple of seasons behind on the Vera tv series, so I watched an episode from season 5 last night. It seems that tv Vera is just as cantankerous and abrasive as book Vera, but physically she's more appealing.
Gisela, I had the same reaction to Jimmy Perez. He's portrayed as dark and swarthy from his Spanish heritage in the books and then he's played by a slight blond guy! But I also got over it and got into the tv series and just separated it from the books and started to enjoy it. It seems that the producers of both tv shows have invested quite a lot to make them very high-quality series. (I agree with you about some of the American series - I'm thinking Harry Bosch specifically, which I can't watch!)
I guess TV producers want to have really attractive people, and to many that still means blond. Some US shows are trying to hire actors with more diversity (especially when they have a large group of cops or doctors), so you see different races and shades of people. From my limited exposure to British TV, there seems to be more roles for older female characters. I always thought it was ridiculous to see detectives (or doctors) played by young women in high heels, short skirts, and full hair and makeup. Somehow I missed out on the Harry Bosch books and I didn't even know there was a TV series.
NancyJ wrote: "I guess TV producers want to have really attractive people, and to many that still means blond. Some US shows are trying to hire actors with more diversity (especially when they have a large group ..."I love the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. I am almost through the whole series and don't want to finish too quickly.
Connie wrote: I love the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. I am almost through the whole series and don't want to finish too quickly. ."I also love the Harry Bosch series! I'm all caught up on those. Always excited for the next one. Michael Connelly is actually how I got into this genre of books. I love his Lincoln Lawyer books too.
Hi NancyJ, the Harry Bosch series is on Amazon and renewd for I believe a fifth season.
Wow, I rejoined Amazon prime last Christmas and I haven't even looked at the movie and shows online. Every once in a while - like when I notice how much I pay for TV/Internet - I think about dropping my TV and premium services all together, and just rely on Amazon and Netflix. Now that I'm reading again, I don't spend as much time watching. I think I've had the first Harry Bosch book on my to-read list for a long time. I just started reading mysteries again recently, so there are a lot of good series waiting for me.
I feel the same way I have Hulu and Netflix which I love but I don't get to watch it as much because I read a lot. I just read the first book in the Harry Bosch series about a month ago and really liked it.
The Bosch series is renewed for the 4th season. I've been watching for the release date lol.
Off topic - but - do I need anything special to watch Amazon on a smart tv (it's about 4 years old if it matters for the technology)?
51% in and I am loving this book. It is not at all what I was expecting and really like the fact that Vera doesn’t appear until 40% in. It’s a refreshing change for the other characters to have priority rather than the detective.
Just finished! I definitely wasn't expecting that ending. I do agree with some of the earlier comments saying that the ending was a bit unbelievable, but I still liked it. I liked that it surprised me quite a bit.(view spoiler)
Overall an enjoyable read though I still think the buildup was a tad too long. While I didn't mind reading about the characters and found their backgrounds interesting I personally really love the investigation and getting into the detective's mind as they solve the case and I wish we had gotten more of that in this book. Not sure if I'll read the other books in the series but I'm glad I read this one.
NancyJ wrote: "Off topic - but - do I need anything special to watch Amazon on a smart tv (it's about 4 years old if it matters for the technology)?"If you have a smart TV you should be able to subscribe to Amazon and / or Netflix - there'll be a menu for apps you can access them via, but you'll need to sign up online first.
I use a Roku stick as my TV isn't smart ( with apologies to my TV, it isn't it's fault ). My girlfriend's TV is also an older smart TV and the apps stopped updating, so I got her an amazon fire stick, for about £30
( at the risk of adding another level of distraction, I keep considering cancelling my amazon tv account, as netflix just has so much more god stuff, but Bosch, Hap & Leonard, Mr robot and The Tick are just about enough to keep me on board )
Glad to see everyone's thoughts on the book flowing without needing my moderation; I am just back from my holiday and can report that Morocco is well worth visiting should you get the chance.I think agree with much that has been said - I found the opening and the first few chapter truly excellent, but then the pace slowed so much I did find the going rather laborious. Cleeves seems far more interested in the social and character background than the mystery itself - which isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, although personally I'd have preferred that balanced a little more by plot progression.
I thought the saving grace was the sense of place and the characterisation, the latter of which was exceptional. Cleeves is clearly a gifted and experience writer and portrays very well rounded characters - although I did find Vera Stanhope herself to be one exception. Especially in the earlier sections of the novel, when Vera was seen from the other characters'point of view, I found her rather broad and cartoonish (which was, I think deliberate both on the part of the author and Stanhope herself, as a kind of Columbo-esque way of being discounted by others).
NancyJ, LOL (regarding your tv your comment was really cute). I have Rouku so I can get the station that Mr. Robot is on and watch the whole series without Amazon.Paul, welcome back Morocco is on my list of travel destinations. I have to say I really like the story with all of the detail of the landscape and characters. To me it was a story that just happened to have a murder or two.
Cleeves is clearly a gifted and experience writer and portrays very well rounded characters - although I did find Vera Stanhope herself to be one exception.That's an interesting point, Paul. We learned so much about Ann, Grace and Rachel and many of the other characters, but not so much about Vera. I will read more in this series and look to Cleeves to flesh Vera out as she did Jimmy Perez in the Shetland Island mysteries. Your point about her being outstanding at creating a sense of place permeates that series in spades!
