Reviews for The Butterfly Moon

The average rating for The Butterfly Moon based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-05-27 00:00:00 Tea Tsaava A very solid and enjoyable 4 star ⭐️ mystery More on my return to England tomorrow, just saying αντιο to Greece. Well needless to say I forgot that I hadn't reviewed this on my return, so I need to get my "wassname in gear" and get it written. (I already have reviews still to write from my holiday 2 years ago, agh). So, let's be honest any Brit knows Midsommer Murders, its been on British TV for 20+ years, and whilst people of a certain age will remember John Nettles as Detective Bergerac, most know him now as DCI Barnaby (even though his "cousin" has now taken over). It's strange I only remember seeing this episode once and that was about 4 weeks ago, but I still wanted to read the book (s), albeit on my Kindle. So let's stop talking about the TV program and concentrate on the book. Having watched numerous episodes on TV (ha ha I couldn't resist it), I found Barnaby (and Troy) to be different in the book (or should that be different in the TV series). Anyway, it was different, they are different, but is that a bad thing ? Well no, its just, erm, different. He's still DCI Barnaby and, his sidekick is still DS Troy, and they are still good detectives, and still fun to follow through the ins and outs of Badgers Drift (Mrs Rainbird, woah 😳) and Midsommer County in general. Some things are as they should be; Troy's driving and Joyce Barnaby's cooking, so there is still some consistency into the TV episodes. However, this was slightly darker than I had expected, but not gruesome, slightly edgy, but not horrific, more detection (well the episodes on TV are only an hour), so in some ways more interesting and deeper than the TV (sorry still comparing to the TV). Overall, I read the book Barnaby and Troy but kept seeing the TV Barnaby and Troy, which is no bad thing as I have said before it helps you visualise the characters more and becomes a more personal experience. Still a thoroughly enjoyable book, and in some ways "better" than the TV series despite all John Nettles brilliant character acting. Well done Caroline Graham, an excellently crafted and twisted detective story, with a fabulous setting (rural England - my back yard) and some interesting and idiosyncratic characters (typical rural Brits). Overall yet another Detective series I am going to have to get into 😊

Review # 2 was written on 2010-07-29 00:00:00 John Roberts BUT IN HER WEB SHE STILL DELIGHTS TO WEAVE THE MIRROR'S MAGIC SIGHTS; FOR OFTEN THROUGH THE SILENT NIGHTS A FUNERAL, WITH PLUMES AND LIGHTS AND MUSIC, COME FROM CAMELOT... OUT FLEW THE WEB, AND FLOATED WIDE, THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE, 'THE CURSE IS COME UPON ME,' CRIED THE LADY OF SHALOTT. - Alfred, Lord Tennyson In the bucolic centre of Badger's Drift a Black Spider weaves her web of deathly duplicity, after looking into her glasses' magic sights - sharpened to a deadly focus on undetected sin. And often, a funeral follows thereafter, as foreseen by Tennyson. But all evil has its just deserts, and even black spiders can be squashed mercilessly out of existence... And so is the Curse come upon the Black Widow of Badger's Drift. And, so, once again, it is left to Inspector Barnaby to get us to the centre of the web. Such, in symbolic poetical synopsis, is the drift of just one of the intricate and macabre plot lines of this exemplary whodunit. In the rich, unplumbed underground of our suburban neighbourhoods are embedded multifarious not-so-rich veins of pure fool's gold. Oh, the crazy things folks do to get to the top of the heap, to uncover undiscovered vistas of sensual delight, or just to scheme new scams for making underground lucre... by Blackmail. The list is extensive. A great symboliste writer of fin-de-siecle gai Paris saw this all too clearly in the midst of Europe's nineteenth century decadence before WWI. His name was Stephane Mallarme. To exorcise its demons from his spirit, he penned poetic jeremiads that would likely offend few of his confreres - as his poetry was veiled in mysterious, arcane imagery. But just look a little more - believe me, it's all there! That's why he's my favourite French poet. His work aptly presages the battle cry of the Northern Irish rock band, U2. Their words? DON'T EXPRESS - SUGGEST. But Caroline Graham pays no attention to poetic veillities. We're all adults, right? So she lets the demure villagers - and by extension, we, the demure Global Villagers - have it with both barrels. The killings are gruesome, and even the innocent aren't spared. But Barnaby's up to his usual snuff and never lets us down. And if course we cheer when the murderer is caught dead to rights. But Badger's Drift's touristy image of a quaint old-fashioned English village - Has henceforth irrevocably "cracked from side to side."