Scan barcode
princessjigglypuff's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
"A SEASIDE RETREAT.......
It's summer on the Jersey Shore. Children play on the beach. Husbands are all working in the city & the surf echoes in the night. Here, in this perfect place, a serial has no worries in the world- except choosing the next victim.
HAS JUST BECOME.........
Cam Hastings has come to Long Beach Island with her teenage daughter and the hope that maybe she can save her failed marriage. Cam has never stopped loving her husband Mike nor has she been able to outrun her flaws and demons- a vanished mother, a lost sister, & the ugly visions she has of missing children.
A KILLER'S FAVORITE PLAYGROUND
Now, Cam is about to step over the edge. For once, she will act on one of her visions- and then face the consequences. For a killer has just struck again & for Cam, & the people she loves most, fear has come home for good" (From Amazon)
Another great suspense thriller with a bit of romance. I enjoyed this novel.
"A SEASIDE RETREAT.......
It's summer on the Jersey Shore. Children play on the beach. Husbands are all working in the city & the surf echoes in the night. Here, in this perfect place, a serial has no worries in the world- except choosing the next victim.
HAS JUST BECOME.........
Cam Hastings has come to Long Beach Island with her teenage daughter and the hope that maybe she can save her failed marriage. Cam has never stopped loving her husband Mike nor has she been able to outrun her flaws and demons- a vanished mother, a lost sister, & the ugly visions she has of missing children.
A KILLER'S FAVORITE PLAYGROUND
Now, Cam is about to step over the edge. For once, she will act on one of her visions- and then face the consequences. For a killer has just struck again & for Cam, & the people she loves most, fear has come home for good" (From Amazon)
Another great suspense thriller with a bit of romance. I enjoyed this novel.
lauraxchristine's review against another edition
3.0
The shock factor took SO long... It was a struggle to finish but worth it in the end.
aprilbethp's review against another edition
3.0
Let me start off by saying that I did very much enjoy this book but I knocked a star off because of some formatting choices that I think they thought would enhance the reading experience but I felt took away from it.
There were multiple perspective shifts in each chapter but rarely were they delineated in any understandable way. Perhaps it was meant to keep the readers on our toes but mostly it was just frustrating.
I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t a classic detective thriller story and that the majority of the book was centered around Cam. I think the author did a fair job of creating realistic characters that stay true to what most people in their situations would think and feel. I appreciated how authentic each of their voices sounded.
I am looking forward to the next book.
There were multiple perspective shifts in each chapter but rarely were they delineated in any understandable way. Perhaps it was meant to keep the readers on our toes but mostly it was just frustrating.
I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t a classic detective thriller story and that the majority of the book was centered around Cam. I think the author did a fair job of creating realistic characters that stay true to what most people in their situations would think and feel. I appreciated how authentic each of their voices sounded.
I am looking forward to the next book.
ncrabb's review against another edition
3.0
Cam Hasting figured she and her husband, Mike, would weather whatever came at them. But her disturbing visions--visions that came true--were more than she could stand. Her only choice, so it seemed, was to self medicate; and for years, the booze flowed freely. The marriage eventually drowned in alcohol. Mike moved out, and 14-year-old Tess was left to deal with the broken home with all its negative ramifications. But the couple never stopped being in love.
Horrifically enough, the vision that disturbs Cam Hasting most is one in which she glimpses her own daughter dying. Newly pregnant with Mike's baby, the one they made before he moved out, Cam determines not to drink, even attending AA meetings with a mysterious sponsor.
I loved the author's writing style. I was hooked from the beginning, and the fact that I finished the book while doing my morning walk is proof that I got through it quickly and remained interested throughout. I felt that some things were a bit too predictable though, and that's where the three star rating comes in. Granted, there are still plenty of surprises, but I figured out enough of it too early for me to be able to unload a five-star rave on you. The thing is, this is part of the new Audible expanded library where you can download certain books without expending one of your precious credits. If I'd actually had to cough up a credit for this, I'd have been mildly disgruntled.
Emily Sutton-Smith's narration is excellent at 2.7X. Her diction is clear and solid, and she doesn't do some kind of over-the-top narration that involves weirdly exaggerated voices. You won't get listener fatigue from her, and in fact, her narration added to my enjoyment of the book.
Horrifically enough, the vision that disturbs Cam Hasting most is one in which she glimpses her own daughter dying. Newly pregnant with Mike's baby, the one they made before he moved out, Cam determines not to drink, even attending AA meetings with a mysterious sponsor.
I loved the author's writing style. I was hooked from the beginning, and the fact that I finished the book while doing my morning walk is proof that I got through it quickly and remained interested throughout. I felt that some things were a bit too predictable though, and that's where the three star rating comes in. Granted, there are still plenty of surprises, but I figured out enough of it too early for me to be able to unload a five-star rave on you. The thing is, this is part of the new Audible expanded library where you can download certain books without expending one of your precious credits. If I'd actually had to cough up a credit for this, I'd have been mildly disgruntled.
Emily Sutton-Smith's narration is excellent at 2.7X. Her diction is clear and solid, and she doesn't do some kind of over-the-top narration that involves weirdly exaggerated voices. You won't get listener fatigue from her, and in fact, her narration added to my enjoyment of the book.
nikkisuehaight's review against another edition
3.0
Eh I mean it was an okay book but it kinda dragged on for a very very long time. Then you only get like 5 minutes of the killer and to me it just didn't make any sense. Then the ending felt super rushed after spending the whole book lolly gagging.
skeptic_hecate's review against another edition
2.0
This is the second book I read from the author and most likely my last. The good thing about this book is that it is decently written, and that's about it. The bad things are nearly everything else
1. The characters are annoying/unlikable and have little to no developement whatsoever. I do not mind an annoying character, as long as they are called out on their BS eventually, but this is not the case in the book. The worst offender is the protagonist who is dense as a brick, has the spine of a wet paper tissue and gives off major "pick me/not like other girls" vibes, so much indeed that I had to double check when was this published. Now, the "not like other girls" protag is also is problem in the second book, in a different way. All the characters, even the side characters with little to no personality are assholes, and instead of being called out on their behaviour, the author praises their actions and thoughts, as if she genuinely believes these are decent people. The only good one is Tess, she behaves as a normal teenager and is quite smart, except for the last two chapters where her mother's dumb genes decide to make her an idiot.
2. Too many characters! I couldn't care less about half the characters in this book, and I cared very little about the mains as well. However, I felt a new character was introduced every few chapters for no reason only to dissapear in the next chapter. It doesn't help at all that each new character is a carbon copy of the last one with a different background, and all of them have the whitest names in the history of white names.
3. It is so slow one can skip entire chapters and not even notice. Besides having to hear every bloody thought of the most annoying entitled people ever, you have to hear the same thoughts over and over again. Seriously, I feel like I was reading the same chapter again, people think the same things over and over again, does the author think the reader is dumb and needs constant repetition? This book could've been 1/3 the lenght. The pacing is so slow and the interesting parts are few and far in between.
4. Cellphones are used until it is inconvinient to the plot. Because if the issue is solved with a call/text, then the author will avoid remember the existance of cellphones until it is relevant to the plot again.
5. Consequences? What are those? Every asshole keeps assholing without facing consequences. Not even the killer faces consequences.
6. Ending was anticlimatic and mediocre. At the few chapters most of the characters have a sudden personality change, i.e. overprotective mother starts chatting to husband about stupid shite while daughter is missing. Self proclaimed loner has a friendship boner for the protag she knew for 2 seconds. Defensless skinny kid nearly escapes killer because reasons. Killer that is so "smart" as to have committed numerous murders without being caught or suspected, was so careful as to "take care of loose ends" and seldom revealing their motives throughout the book, becomes a Scooby-do level monologuing villain.
7. Mental health, cancer, alcoholism, neglect, lose, trauma and child abuse are treated as either plot devices or excuses for characters to be shitty and never address their issues. I.e.: protag can beat alcoholism in two seconds because: "my alcoholism has a 'motive', unlike those low-life disgusting addicts from AA I keep judging without knowing because I am sooooo special and different".
In short: don't recommend this book nor the author.
1. The characters are annoying/unlikable and have little to no developement whatsoever. I do not mind an annoying character, as long as they are called out on their BS eventually, but this is not the case in the book. The worst offender is the protagonist who is dense as a brick, has the spine of a wet paper tissue and gives off major "pick me/not like other girls" vibes, so much indeed that I had to double check when was this published. Now, the "not like other girls" protag is also is problem in the second book, in a different way. All the characters, even the side characters with little to no personality are assholes, and instead of being called out on their behaviour, the author praises their actions and thoughts, as if she genuinely believes these are decent people. The only good one is Tess, she behaves as a normal teenager and is quite smart, except for the last two chapters where her mother's dumb genes decide to make her an idiot.
2. Too many characters! I couldn't care less about half the characters in this book, and I cared very little about the mains as well. However, I felt a new character was introduced every few chapters for no reason only to dissapear in the next chapter. It doesn't help at all that each new character is a carbon copy of the last one with a different background, and all of them have the whitest names in the history of white names.
3. It is so slow one can skip entire chapters and not even notice. Besides having to hear every bloody thought of the most annoying entitled people ever, you have to hear the same thoughts over and over again. Seriously, I feel like I was reading the same chapter again, people think the same things over and over again, does the author think the reader is dumb and needs constant repetition? This book could've been 1/3 the lenght. The pacing is so slow and the interesting parts are few and far in between.
4. Cellphones are used until it is inconvinient to the plot. Because if the issue is solved with a call/text, then the author will avoid remember the existance of cellphones until it is relevant to the plot again.
5. Consequences? What are those? Every asshole keeps assholing without facing consequences. Not even the killer faces consequences.
6. Ending was anticlimatic and mediocre. At the few chapters most of the characters have a sudden personality change, i.e. overprotective mother starts chatting to husband about stupid shite while daughter is missing. Self proclaimed loner has a friendship boner for the protag she knew for 2 seconds. Defensless skinny kid nearly escapes killer because reasons. Killer that is so "smart" as to have committed numerous murders without being caught or suspected, was so careful as to "take care of loose ends" and seldom revealing their motives throughout the book, becomes a Scooby-do level monologuing villain.
7. Mental health, cancer, alcoholism, neglect, lose, trauma and child abuse are treated as either plot devices or excuses for characters to be shitty and never address their issues. I.e.: protag can beat alcoholism in two seconds because: "my alcoholism has a 'motive', unlike those low-life disgusting addicts from AA I keep judging without knowing because I am sooooo special and different".
In short: don't recommend this book nor the author.
chelz286's review against another edition
5.0
I felt this was a very good book, the only downfall that I had found was that the copy I had listed the second book to this as a different title and so it took me a while to figure out the real title of the second book. Otherwise I highly recommend this to those who are looking to read a good suspense book.
More...