When Jade Eby Isn't Writing...

Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements

I'm so sad right now because I had SUCH high hopes for this novel! The gothic, creepy feel the blurb gave me goosebumps and some of the reviews said it was gritty and in your face. I however thought it was lackluster and sadly disappointing.

The Good: The beginning, in my opinion is the best part of the novel. It DID hook me right away and I immediately wanted to know more. I like that we get a sense of how the Edinburgh Police is developed and how utterly dirty and corrupt the city is. The book is admittedly, well written and I did adore Adam Quire a bit. He's like the little officer that could. Except he's not little. You get the point. I like that Ruckley didn't stray away from the grittiness though. He avoided playing into stereotypes and there were a few surprises here and there.

The Bad: Okay, so there just wasn't enough happening to keep me interested. I would set the book down after a period of time and not pick it up for a couple days. When I returned, I wanted to finish rather for the act of finishing and not because I was interested in the story. This to me is a real problem. This is saying that I probably shouldn't have finished the book to begin with if I was having this many problems with it. I just wanted something more.... alive. Which is kind of funny since this book is about the dead. But it just didn't have what the old gothic stories had and I wish that element would have been present.

Overall, I'd say this was a letdown for me, but I can totally see other people enjoying this novel more than I did. I would give it a D+ but I wouldn't rule it out if it sounds like a genre you'd like to dip your hands into.

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.