My third book of 2016 proved to be a big disappointment, providing further evidence, if any were needed, that book reviews can’t always be trusted.  I rarely read crime fiction and generally trust only a handful of authors working in the genre who have written books I’ve admired in the past.  Susan Hill, Henning Mankell, and George Pelecanos are good examples.  When I try unfamiliar names, trusting reviews rather than my own judgment, as I did in this case, I find that I’m often disappointed.

The problem here was a simple enough one.  I didn’t care at all about any of Sophie Hannah’s protagonists.  Not a single one of them was likable, interesting, or credible.  For me, no amount of plot trickery can compensate if I don’t care about what happens to the characters.  Whodunnit just isn’t enough.