Customer Reviews

Room Swept White

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

 

 

Sophie Hannah fans will certainly be confused by the poor review given by Dowling. I can only think she hasn't read it or isn't a fan. Sophie Hannah belongs to only a handful of authors I buy as soon as their new books are available - I live in the U.S. so this means from Amazon UK. Her new book did not disappoint me in any way. Complex, unsettling plot, terrific writing and suspense and great interactions with the Snowman, Simon and Charlie. If you enjoyed her earlier mysteries, you will certainly like this one. If you haven't read her but read Minette Walters and Barbara Vine, order a copy of Little Face today!

I loved this cover - simple, plain yet the red balloon hints at something dark....

Ontario, Canada readers will be nodding their heads at Sophie Hannah's plotline, as it eerily mirrors recent headlines.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Judith Duffy testified in many cases of SIDS or crib death, indicating that the death was not unexplained and the mothers had in fact murdered their children. Many cases are appealed and the women are released when it is found that Duffy's testimony is suspect and her expertise 'flawed'. Fliss Benson is a film journalist documenting the whole affair.

One of the released mothers - the most vocal and outspoken - is found shot to death. A mysterious card with a set of 16 numbers is left with her body. Fliss also receives one of the cards in the mail. What do the cards mean? Is Fliss a target? What about the other released women?

Sophie Hannah has crafted an incredibly detailed plot with tendrils reaching in many directions. Following the one you think might lead to a solution often leads not to a solution, but to more subtly dropped clues. It wasn't until the last chapters that I had a firm grasp on 'whodunit.'

Fliss was an unusual protagonist. She's a study in opposites - strong and forceful one minute, unsure of herself and her talents the next. There are hints to something in her past that again slowly eked out until their relevance to the case are revealed. I found her internal dialogues quite funny.

I wasn't aware that this was a series when I first started reading. The police team charged with investigating the case are recurring characters. I did feel a little out of the loop as there were references to the past. It looks as if there will be another in the series - some of the personal plot lines were left unfinished. I really liked the young female constable Charlie. Her relationship with the somewhat odd, but highly intelligent Simon seems to have provided much fodder for the subplots in previous books.

The case and the crime are discussed in many different voices - journalist, filmmaker, victims, lawyers, police, witnesses and family - providing contrasting viewpoints on the same incident and offering lots of food for thought.

A British author new to me and one I will read again.

Not bad, but we expect a lot when buying a new Sophie Hannah book. She excels in humor, plot and human error. I still think she is struggling hard to live up to the amazing first novel (Little Face: A Novel), but mostly she delivers. Next book I will buy again.

One thing annoys me a great deal - the selling of the same books with two different titles! This is almost unforgivable, as I erroneously bought a new book thinking I would enjoy a new read, but alas... Please, stop doing that.

This review is from: A Room Swept White (Hardcover)
Although I liked this book it had its faults. The main character 'Fliss' did get better, but for most of the book she was written as a very inexperienced and ditzy type which did get a bit annoying. I'm not sure anyone could be more dislikable and pointless than Laurie though! Infact other than possibly Charlie and Simon there were no real likeable characters.

The genre felt like a cross between real life story and thriller and overall it was probably successful....not overly sentimental or graphic. However, some things were left unexplained...such as the character of the Snowman (whom I liked but who also never really led to much) and the relationship between him and his officers, which seemed realistic, but I didn't understand why he came down so heavily on one view point and I felt this was never really explained.

The subject matter and legal/court descriptions were believable and actually gave a good insight into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and the effect it can have on relationships as well on the women accused of murdering their own children. There is nothing quite as emotive as the fear of having our children taken away from us. So the idea of an individual being blamed for the death of a child when they're innocent and grieving and no one believing them is really quite scary.
The reason behind the murders seemed far fetched but to give it it's due it kept my interest.

In another suspenseful Sophie Hannah novel that features recurring detectives Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer, Room Swept White shines a light on infant deaths. In these cases, some of the mothers were wrongly convicted due to the testimony of a particular expert witness, Dr. Julia Duffy.

Another character figuring prominently in this story is journalist and TV producer Laurie Nattrass, advocate for the women, and someone who spearheads an organization directed toward releasing the wrongly convicted.

Fliss Benson, a TV producer to whom Laurie turns over his unfinished documentary film, is a first person narrator in the story, and one who is soon caught up in mystery, murder, and the quest for the truth. As she zeroes in on some of these truths, hard truths from her past threaten to destabilize her.

Throughout this very exciting novel, the narration switches between characters, and also occasionally jumps back to the mid-nineties when some of the child deaths occurred. But the murder of one of the wrongly convicted mothers occurs in conjunction with the release of several strange clues: rows and columns of seemingly unrelated numbers that keep the cops and Fliss jumping through hoops to find out what it all means.

Toward the end, I began to put the pieces together in my mind, but there were still some "a-ha" moments to come. I recommend this exciting page turner to Sophie Hannah fans and to anyone who loves the twists and turns of a good mystery. Some parts of the books were a bit tedious and repetitive; thus, four stars.

I enjoyed the novel but I don't think it is the author's best work.
The novel I read was titled Cradle in the Grave. Just as another reviewer pointed out, before purchasing be aware that several of these novels are titled one way for first printing (UK) and then differently titled later. I have no idea why.

I have found that any mystery by Sophie Hannah is going to be absolutely great. I just love all the twists and turns. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out who done it - but not with Sophie. Very few authors write an equal or better mystery.

Stupid is not too strong to use about this book, bad writing, a couple of plots happening at the same time, really not a good book, don't buy it, spend the money on something else.