House of Glass is a platypus of literature. The book has a body of one creation and a tail of another one. It starts as a gothic mystery but turns into War and Peace in the end.

What is the book about

It’s a story about Clara, a young woman whose bones are fragile like glass and whose emotional state has also been shattered by a recent loss. Clara is hired to work in a glass house of an old estate, and of course the estate hides many mysteries which Clara will try to solve.

What I liked about the book

The gothic part

The book creates a perfect gothic atmosphere. There is an old mansion, spooky sounds, and a history of complicated lives.

The mystery

I absolutely loved Clara’s attitude which turned a spooky story into almost a detective one.

Characters

The characters are not either good or bad. They are multidimensional and complicated. It’s hard to come to final conclusions about them.

Storylines

There are many storylines and they are all connected on some level.

Chekhov’s guns

Each detail mentioned in the story has its function.

What I liked less

Women’s rights agenda

I know it’s a sensitive topic so I’ll try to tread it carefully. I understand the necessity of acknowledging the problems, both historical and current ones, but modern female-authored literature seems to be overusing the topic to the point that it’s starting to repel people rather than draw the limelight to the problems.

Random villain

It feels like the characters were drawing straws to pick up a villain, and the one who landed the role didn’t really fit it.

The platypus tail

When I want to read War and Peace, I read Tolstoy. If I am drawn to the book by its gothic atmosphere, I prefer the atmosphere to persist till the end.

Final thoughts

It’s a well-written book with an interesting and complicated plot that for the most part combines mystery and gothic. If it was not for the ending I would have easily given the book five stars.

The Songbird Girls is the second book in the series about a detective called Tom Fabian. I didn’t read the first book but I was still able to understand what was happening in the second one.

What I liked about The Songbird Girls by Richard Parker

It was quite a good thriller. The writing is great, the characters are busy playing their roles, there are no huge plot holes to dance around or ignore. The Songbird Girls is fast-paced and very easy to read. You can read the whole book within one weekend.

What I didn’t like about the book

Lack of logic

I understand that the serial killer doesn’t really need any logic or motivation, he’s a psychopath after all. But the book states he chose to do some things to get to certain outcomes which he suddenly annihilates by now choosing to do opposite things. Sure, he’s mentally unstable so the erratic behaviour shouldn’t really surprise anyone, but I still feel it’s a flaw in a story when “he’s just crazy” is the only explanation.

Redundant scenes

Imagine Professor Moriarty trying to get Holmes to the The Reichenbach Falls but failing at his first attempt. Then imagine we suddenly learn he actually succeeded at his second attempt. We don’t witness the second attempt. Nothing meaningful happens as a result of the first one either. Question: why is the first scene there at all?

The ending

The ending is well-formed even though it’s quite abrupt. It does answer questions but it also makes the existence of those answers pointless, so it doesn’t really bring any satisfaction.

Final thoughts

It is definitely not a bad thriller. If someone’s looking for a decent well-written mystery and crime story, The Songbird Girls might be the right choice.

I’m very thankful to the publishers for the copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The book will be out in ten says, on 19.12.18.