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moss_piglette's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
peskybee's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jessbslide's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
A good, quick murder mystery. Main character was underdeveloped, but the plot was good and kept me guessing most of the way through.
daniellacara's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
andrewsm1228's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
mkaliakin's review against another edition
4.0
Fast paced read. I enjoyed that every time I had a suspect that is where the book went. Didn’t guess the right person which is always a nice element. Not sure why the author never addressed Will laughing at being accused for murder. Also may have rated higher if they wasn’t such a neat and tidy ending. Overall enjoyable read. Maybe a little too much focus on her pregnancy for almost no reason. I guess it gave character development but it was just sooo much detail about it.
alicia2000's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
wondernikel's review against another edition
1.0
Yeah. So get to the point already...yeesh! This one was so long and drawn out. I could barely get into it.
kendragaylelee's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a bit to ease into the narration. I think, ultimately, I just prefer a physical copy of a thriller--there's something about the cadence that lends itself to the page, to reading faster to know what's going to happen, to the jumpiness that I get when I'm completely immersed in the book.
That feeling doesn't happen for me in an audiobook. It's a different type of enjoyment. So, that's my first caveat: I would have preferred to have read a physical copy of this one.
The plot build is a slow-burn. You start the book knowing that April is dead. And there's a good bit of time devoted to building both the backstory of the college friends --and fleshing out the protagonist's (Hannah) life 10 years later.
**Spoiler-ish content coming up...**
What I didn't expect was the subplot of Hannah being harassed and assaulted in college by a porter--the gaslighting by those in charge of the college, the tacit support of her friends in reporting the issue, and then ultimately how Hannah's trauma makes her question her own recollection of events.
And, yes, this wraps into the larger whodunit regarding April's murder. But it also forms the basis of Hannah's disassociation from her own body--which shows up again a decade later as she navigates pregnancy. Hannah's whole experience with pregnancy is destabilizing because she clearly has no idea what to expect from her own body--she doesn't feel like she can rely on it. And she doesn't trust it.
Again, all this ties together in ways that matter greatly to the story. But it felt empowering to see two issues that figure so prominently into so many women's lives--harassment/assault & pregnancy--being addressed head on in a way that made me stop and consider the ways in which society makes it so damn difficult to navigate life--and sometimes to even survive.
That's more than I usually get from a thriller. (Usually it's just good fun) And I appreciated Ware's dragging into the light the very things that women so often try to navigate alone.
That feeling doesn't happen for me in an audiobook. It's a different type of enjoyment. So, that's my first caveat: I would have preferred to have read a physical copy of this one.
The plot build is a slow-burn. You start the book knowing that April is dead. And there's a good bit of time devoted to building both the backstory of the college friends --and fleshing out the protagonist's (Hannah) life 10 years later.
**Spoiler-ish content coming up...**
What I didn't expect was the subplot of Hannah being harassed and assaulted in college by a porter--the gaslighting by those in charge of the college, the tacit support of her friends in reporting the issue, and then ultimately how Hannah's trauma makes her question her own recollection of events.
And, yes, this wraps into the larger whodunit regarding April's murder. But it also forms the basis of Hannah's disassociation from her own body--which shows up again a decade later as she navigates pregnancy. Hannah's whole experience with pregnancy is destabilizing because she clearly has no idea what to expect from her own body--she doesn't feel like she can rely on it. And she doesn't trust it.
Again, all this ties together in ways that matter greatly to the story. But it felt empowering to see two issues that figure so prominently into so many women's lives--harassment/assault & pregnancy--being addressed head on in a way that made me stop and consider the ways in which society makes it so damn difficult to navigate life--and sometimes to even survive.
That's more than I usually get from a thriller. (Usually it's just good fun) And I appreciated Ware's dragging into the light the very things that women so often try to navigate alone.