Bred In The Bone: A Jasmine Sharp And Catherine McLeod Novel (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
When I began the Jasmine Sharp series, I seriously doubted that I would finish them, let alone give this 5 stars. It feels like Brookmyre has written the previous two novels simply to set this up.I won't give anything away, which makes it hard to review in any depth, but suffice to say this is simply fantastic. I am a big fan of Brookmyre and I think it is fair to say that his usual dark humour is not particularly evident in this book (and indeed the series). However, this does not detract in the slightest. I was left guessing until the end, and when I thought I had figured something out, it would turn out to be a minor development and you then get socked in the face by what is really happening. Brookmyre is an absolute master of suspense, timing and deception. Whilst I consider this to be the best of the Jasmine Sharp novels, you have to read the preceding two for it to have the necessary impact. Personally I found the first one a slog, and Jasmine to be deeply irritating but stick with it because it is definitely worth it. There's nothing with this one that I can put a finger on as being "wrong", exactly, but it wasn't as funny or gripping as Brookmyre's past books have been. Just not as fun to read - I kept putting it down after a couple of chapters. He seems to have been experimenting with genres - with the supernatural stuff in the past couple of books and now, maybe, with more "serious" crime fiction here. I just seem to want more of the same!ETA: and I just realized this is third in a series where I haven't read the first two (and was somehow totally unaware of them) - that might explain a bit of my difficulty.
What do You think about Bred In The Bone: A Jasmine Sharp And Catherine McLeod Novel (2014)?
Some great music references as always, including Frightened Rabbit this time.
—cynthia
[UK title: Flesh Wounds] Corking thriller. I couldn't put it down.
—dcruze
Not so keen on bedlam - this hit the spot nicely...
—themermaidgirl
