Customer Reviews

Birth Marks

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm surprised that there are not a lot of glowing reviews on Amazon of "Birth Marks" by Sarah Dunant. It was first printed in 1992, and my edition was printed in 2005, so there has been plenty of time for readers to discover the Hannah Wolfe series by this excellent author. There are at least three Hannah Wolfe mysteries: "Birth Marks", "Fat Lands", and "Under My Skin". These are not re-runs of 1950s gumshoe detective stories, or old British ladies solving village mysteries. Hannah is like Bridget Jones, if Bridget doubled her IQ and went to work for a London detective agency. She's smart, young, single, urban, and hip. In "Birth Marks", Hannah is hired by an aging balarina to locate her missing protege. When she turns up in the Thames, dead and pregnant, Hannah feels compelled to track down her killer. This is a very exciting, literate mystery. If you read this one, you'll have to read all three books. They are really good.

The dancer Hannah Wolfe was hired to find turns up dead, but that doesn't keep her from becoming a complex character. Dunant's characters are like Hirschfeld portraits - economical, vivid, and inscribed with her own maker's mark. The aging ballet mistress, the invisible cop-mentor, the eyelashes, the French beauties, they all leap off the page with very little ink needed. It's a book about people, Hannah most of all, but also her sister and her view of the world. You'll think you know the twist at the end, but you will be wrong.

Sarah Dunant is a wonderful writer. Her prose is crisp and clever and so is her detective. Hannah Wolfe colors outside the lines, but carefully. Unlike VI Warshawski and Alex Tanner, Hannah doesn't go blindly/willfully into dangerous situations; she makes phone calls telling people her location - then she steps into the shadows. I wonder if the detective's feminine name is further evidence that Dunant doesn't feel she has anything to prove in these books. Hannah is a truly evolved independent professional.

The first-person narration is so witty that you'll laugh in inappropriate places. Dunant's character is monarch of the throw-away line. After her ego suffers a black-eye, Hannah comforts herself with a series of platitudes, then remarks "A poultice of cliché's brought down the swelling." She's a self-critical narrator, but ironic and sardonic rather than depressed or bitter. Hannah is such a 21st-century hero that it's a triple shame Dunant seems to have let the series lapse.

Great female detective story. All plausable situations. Keeps you guessing all the way through. Page turner!!!

There was nothing outstanding about this mystery in which a beautiful dancer goes missing and Hannah is put on the case. It is a better way to kill a few hours than watching most TV shows. I liked her Venus book quite a bit, so tried this more traditional Dunant. I hope she either has more of the Venus variety or is intending to write more historical mysteries. The writing in that book was lovely. Doesn't even seem like the same writer.

This was the first Sarah Dunant mystery that I read having previously read Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan and Sacred Hearts, all of which I loved. I found this book, like her others, to be a fast-paced page turner with very likeable characters - including the dead woman that Hannah was hired to locate. Hannah has a lively sense of humor and I found myself chuckling out loud at her wise remarks even when the action was tense. I highly recommend this book and have ordered a copy of Fatlands, another Hannah Wolfe crime novel, based on my enjoyment of Birth Marks.

Crime novel with an unusual twist. I thought I had the criminal pegged, but I guessed wrong! I'll bet you would too.

I have to say I liked Hannah, I liked Frank, but I could have cared less about the dead ballerina. If it weren't for the great main character and her biting point of view, I wouldn't have read past when Hannah starts digging around in France.

Sarah Dunant writes really good detective novels -- so good that I wish she hadn't moved on to historical fiction. Her smart protagonist, Hannah Wolfe, is both cynical and vulnerable, and the secondary characters are extremely well drawn. BIRTH MARKS will grab you with a shocking early development that most authors wouldn't dare employ, but Dunant makes it work. Definitely recommended for readers who like V.I. Warshawski and other strong female sleuths.