The Cradle in the Grave

The fifth in the series has more, more, more twists and less, less, less Zailer and Waterhouse, but not to ill effect. The main characters are two film producers trying to get to a resolution on three cases of possible child murders by moms. Snowman figures more prominently, as he had arrested one of the accused. And he's really making Waterhouse literally crazed, not a far drive. Plenty of humor and insight, as usual.

I was disappointed in this book as I found the characters to be irritating and/or flat. I found it difficult to follow and by the end really couldn't care less.

I enjoyed the first three of the Culver Valley series (Little Face, Hurting Distance and The Point of Rescue) and was less impressed with number four, The Other Half Lives. But Sophie Hannah's storylines are always so interesting that I really want to read another one and so I found myself picking up A Room Swept White. I'm afraid I was disappointed.Despite an intriguing story about mothers accused of killing their children and a TV producer who finds herself thrown in at the deep end of a documentary about them, together with mysterious cards with numbers on them being found here, there and everywhere, this book failed to draw me in. Police officers Zailer and Waterhouse are just plain irritating and confusing this time round and Zailer's recent past is referred to quite a bit but the author failed to give any reminder as to what happened to her (whatever it was happened in The Other Half Lives and I can't remember now). I'm afraid I was just glad to get to the end of this book. There were parts that I thought were good and some the opposite, but too mixed for it to score any higher for me. However, I have to say that I will probably read the rest in the series because they appeal to me so much.

I love most of Sophie Hannah's books for the first three quarters-- compelling ideas, genius hooks, interesting characters. Then the denouements often seemed rushed and unsatisfying. This one is much better, with interesting issues and a great setup. There was much more sustained tension til the end, which was great.

Fliss, a producer on the low end of her production company's totem pole receives an odd card featuring a block of numbers. She's working for the brilliant Laurie Nattrass, who is making a documentary about a doctor whose expert testimony about crib deaths may have sent innocent and grieving mothers to prison. At the same time, one of the women who spent time in prison, but who was eventually acquitted and who was working with Nattrass on his documentary, is found murdered in her home, and an identical card is found on her body. Sophie Hannah writes well-plotted mystery novels that are reminiscent of Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters. The locale and police working the cases remain the same through all of her books, but as they are a secondary focus, it's not necessary to read her books in order. I am, because of the slowly developing relationships between the different detectives are so interesting; in this installment, Waterhouse is no longer working with Zailer and is forced into closer proximity to his supervisor, a man for whom he feels nothing but contempt. Waterhouse is a seething mass of anger and repression and it's always interesting to see if he can hold himself together, let alone solve the crime.Hannah's books are always fun to read; there are always several twists to the plot and she keeps the reader guessing until the final pages without cheating or pulling her punches. This was a solid offering in a well written and diverting series. I will add that her books have different titles in Britain and the US, with the US titles being utterly devoid of meaning and therefore hard to keep track of. The author was told that Americans need unambiguous titles that reflect the genre, instead of intriguing titles that reflect the actual book. The British title for this book is A Room Swept White, which makes perfect sense if you've read the book and is a much better title than the mystery-genre-appropriate and forgotten tomorrow, The Cradle in the Grave.

Although there was a vitality to the prose, I got more than halfway through and felt completely bogged down in what was more back-story than story. Nothing much was happening, and that which did happen was far too improbable for me. I simply didn't believe a single character, and so their very thin motivations for increasingly preposterous acts left me weary. In fairness, I approached it with a lot of prejudice, as right up front I worried it was trying to cash in on the tragedy of Sally Clark before a decent interval had passed. I accept that these tragedies are a tremendously rich seam for a novel to mine but, to me, this book just didn't tackle it at a high enough level to warrant it being so soon.

My first Sophie Hannah book, which I started reading on my iPhone - she's a remarkable author and I am glad to have discovered her.

Where I got the book: from the library.I should read a British procedural about every three months to reset my brain to normal. This book, published in the UK under the much better title A Room Swept White, is a complex story about women accused of murdering their babies--or was it crib death?--a serial killer who appears to be targeting them, and the producers of a TV documentary on the original court cases. And, of course, the cops on the case all have problems of their own.I can't resist comparing the reading of this book to watching Law and Order UK; the contrast to American conventions is enormous. Hannah's world is messy, with loose ends flying around everywhere that may be tied up somewhere but you've got to be on your toes to track them down. Don't expect a satisfyingly neat ending, although I was slightly disappointed by the hint of a happy ending here and there--put in for the American audience, perhaps?Perhaps it's because I'm a Brit, but I just love not having my stories spoon fed to me. I had to work to follow this novel, and I loved it all the more because of it. I had the satisfying experience of not being able to put the book down once I reached the last fifty pages or so, and I thought I had the killer right and then I didn't.One gripe: if the editing was so minimal as to leave in the British spellings and terms like "skirting board", why couldn't we have kept "cot death", as I'm sure it was originally written, instead of "crib death"? I'm sure the US audience could work that one out (although I noticed I wrote "crib death" above, but my excuse is that I've been in the US for a long time). Still, kudos to the editor for a quality job overall; I couldn't fault it (and I'm picky).

Love these dark psychologically twisty novels and the way she peals away the layers of her characters psyches.

I'm not really one for crime and mysteries and things like that, but I thought I'd try and branch out a little. I quite liked this book and got through it at a fair pace, but I had an inkling about the ending quite early on, so I got a bit bored waiting for the situation to resolved. The characters were a bit flat, and I don't think the main character was meant to be as irritating as she was.

An interesting crime story, though I can't remember when I last read a novel that was so poorly (atrociously?) written.

I really enjoyed this book. Ok it suffers from the difficult ending the way a lot of thrillers do but for the majority of the novel ther is a jaunty narrative keeping your interest all the way through. I particularly liked the writing from several viewpoints tactic that seems to be getting more and more popular. Characters were interesting enough and it was pitched perfectly I thought. I will definitely investigate the other books.

I really love Sophie Hannah's books and I was going to say that this makes me biased, but actually it doesn't. I love them because she is such a good writer and I always enjoy her twisty tales. This one felt slightly different to the others and then I realised this was because of Fliss' voice. I agree she wasn't a particularly likeable character, but does she need to be? Her voice was authentic and the story itself was gripping. I can see where the inspiration came from and this is acknowledged at the end. It's a very difficult subject matter but handled really well with opinions from both sides and a sense of ambiguity even when you think you're being told the truth. Recommended.

Fliss, cot death. Very disappointing compared to othere

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.

I was really impressed with this one. Page turning and a better pace than Sophie's last title. It deals with the subject of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and is inspired by events in the UK involving the so called flawed testimony of a medical expert whose evidence led to the imprisonment and subsequent release of several mothers accused of killing their babies. The book succeeded in covering both sides of the picture and left a lot of room for doubt over several issues. For a variety of reasons, we will never know the truth and the novel leaves you feeling this way.What prevented me from giving this book 5*s is I find it hard to "picture" Sophie's characters. There is a lack of illustration of their overall make up, and I sometimes get the feeling that there are just too many characters in the story.Overall though a page turning novel about a disturbing subject and highly recommended.