Beach Reads: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - 4.5* (Round to 5*)

[Doughgirl5562]

Tags: coming-of-age, southern-literature, north carolina, mystery, nature, birds, swamps, poetry, survival

Part murder mystery, part coming of age novel, part a story of survival, part a study of naturalism in the North Carolina coastal swamps - this novel is every bit as good as I heard it was.

I put off reading this book, thinking it couldn't possibly be as good as I had heard. But - with the exception of a few very small quibbles - it really was. I fell in love with the characters of Kya, Tate and Jumpin' (and a lawyer named Tom and a courthouse cat called Sunday Justice). The mystery was done well, so well that the final reveal of the murderer caught me by surprise. And along the way, I enjoyed learning about the birds in Kya's swamp.

So why not a full 5*? Well, part of it was the dual timeline storytelling method. I think it worked well in this instance, but I'm just getting a little tired of it in general. And I thought the Chase character was a bit too stereotypical. I could totally predict his actions. Lastly (and this is a bit of a spoiler, so .... (view spoiler)[ I found it hard to believe that neither Kya nor her brother ever heard from any of their other siblings again. And if they did, I would have liked the author to mention it. (hide spoiler)]

But none of those little quibbles should put you off from reading this wonderful novel. In the end, it was my favorite kind of novel - the story of a life well lived.

[Peacejanz]

Thank you - what a wonderful review. peace, janz

[Barbara M]

I really enjoyed this book but I know what you mean about the two timelines. In fact, I just finished Before We Were Yours that did the same thing. Nevertheless, I gave both books 5 stars and I save that rating for my favorites.

[Jason]

Glad you enjoyed it. My biggest quibble was the courtroom scene. It was very difficult for me. But I enjoyed the book. I went into it not knowing much about it except everyone loved it. I wasn't expecting a mystery, but I enjoyed the story.

[Karin]

I thought this book was quite good and plan to read something else by her someday.

[NancyJ]

I loved this book. I read it twice already. I loved Kya, Tate, Jumpin and Mabel, I loved the nature setting, with the water and birds. I learned some new things about evolutionary biology too, (The males of some species have devised sneaky ways to pass along their genes.) I would have loved it just as much without the mystery, but the book might not have sold as well without it.

I don't think she has written any more fiction (She was about 70 when she wrote this book), but she and her husband wrote several memoirs about the years they spent in Africa. I read one of them for the Africa tag, about their efforts to stop poaching of elephants.

I agree with your spoiler, and the dual storylines. I used to like dual timelines, but I think they're overused. Especially all the books that involve a woman finding something (in an attic say) , and discovering a family secret.