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A review by robinwalter
Framed in Fire by Iona Whishaw
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Normally by book 9 in a series the wobbles are setting in. Character growth can be stalled, storyline's a bit clichéd, there can be a touch (or more) of the mechanical or formulaic. With this book, Ms Whishaw went in exactly the opposite direction and produced what was for me EASILY the best of the series so far. Everything gelled so well. There are three main elements that earned this book 5/5 from me.
(1) In many of the earlier books of the series I found the time skipping hard to follow and in a couple, actually tedious. In this one the different timelines were easy to follow and the connection with the current storyline and its multiple mysteries was clear and coherent, and added poignancy to the criminality. That hugely increased my enjoyment of the book.
(2) The character growth. All the major characters grew in ways that were not only satisfying but were consistent with their personalities as depicted in the previous books. What I particularly liked was the way that the characters grew consciously and deliberately through sensible self-analysis.
(3) the First Nations storyline. Like Canada, Aotearoa/New Zealand is a Commonwealth country still coming to terms with the full reality of the impact of colonialism on its indigenous people. For that reason this part of the story grabbed my attention from the start. The way Canada's treatment of its indigenous peoples was introduced and handled in this book was remarkably deft. It formed a fundamental part of the storyline but the story never got drowned in politicking or handwringing.
The only possible fault to find with this book is the worry that Ms Whishaw has set the bar so high that the next book will have a Herculean task to clear it.
(1) In many of the earlier books of the series I found the time skipping hard to follow and in a couple, actually tedious. In this one the different timelines were easy to follow and the connection with the current storyline and its multiple mysteries was clear and coherent, and added poignancy to the criminality. That hugely increased my enjoyment of the book.
(2) The character growth. All the major characters grew in ways that were not only satisfying but were consistent with their personalities as depicted in the previous books. What I particularly liked was the way that the characters grew consciously and deliberately through sensible self-analysis.
(3) the First Nations storyline. Like Canada, Aotearoa/New Zealand is a Commonwealth country still coming to terms with the full reality of the impact of colonialism on its indigenous people. For that reason this part of the story grabbed my attention from the start. The way Canada's treatment of its indigenous peoples was introduced and handled in this book was remarkably deft. It formed a fundamental part of the storyline but the story never got drowned in politicking or handwringing.
The only possible fault to find with this book is the worry that Ms Whishaw has set the bar so high that the next book will have a Herculean task to clear it.