I love and fear reading book reviews.

Love them because they help me choose the titles for my "must read list"
Fear them because so often they reveal too much of the plot and even sometimes (usually unintentionally) whodunit!

I will sometimes find myself reading them with my head turned half to the side, one eye closed as if this will help should I stumble upon that all too revealing sentence. Which of course it won't, horror of horror, once you have read that spoiling line it's too late! The dastardly deed is done and there's no going back.

It doesn't help when I'm lulled into a false sense of security by promises of "I don't want to give anything away", but then go on to say in all but name whodunit!
For example such reviews that tell us that the reviewer guessed the culprit from the beginning as he was the only one not under any suspicion are just as bad!
Oh thanks, that narrows it down then and I won't be able to help myself identifying the only character not under any suspicion! Or maybe I just won't bother with the book after all.
Then there are those that go into such detail about the plot that you feel you don't need to read the book/ see the film after all! A bit like film trailers these days, you are shown so many scenes which one assumes are the most impressive, exciting or moving that you feel you have probably seen the best the film has to offer before you even buy the cinema ticket.

We all surely appreciate an in depth review and believe me I can understand how difficult it must be to review a film or book without giving in to relating the plot. I believe that a truly helpful review of film or fiction is probably the most difficult to write and I do not aspire to be anywhere near competent in that category, preferring instead to read reviews in the main.

I don't want to be too hard on those who have obviously spent a lot of time and energy on their review but sometimes more is less.

I am of the belief that a good fictional book review doesn't always need to be pages long and should not include too much of the plot.
Surely all that is needed is the briefest outline of the plot with the focus being on the quality of writing, imagination of the author, originality, setting of the story, how convincing the story was, how believable the characters, all these things are useful to the prospective reader. The skill can surely sometimes lie in conveying a feel for the story without actually telling the story.

There are however those dooyooers who are skilled in this area and I would probably do well to stick to the tried and trusted few, but I feel that this would be a shame as that isn't really what dooyoo is about is it?

So a plea from the fearful, please please leave the mystery just that, don't even reveal clues as to who dun what and don't tell me half the story, it's a review I want to read not an abbreviation of the book.