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britgirlreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Police brutality
Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, War, Pedophilia, and Dementia
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.25
Finished reading: April 22nd 2023
"We had everything, and then one day we had nothing. All because of that case. Whoever did that... they killed more than that nurse and her boyfriend. They took our family and tore it apart."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I have a weak spot for thrillers with a podcast angle, so it's easy to understand why I ended up adding Something Bad Wrong to my shelves. I loved the sound of the true-crime podcast focusing on the 50-year-old cold case, and the personal connection podcaster Jess Keeler has to the case only makes it more intriguing. I fully expected to have an excellent time with this book, but to my surprise I ended up having mixed thoughts instead... And it took me a lot longer than expected to actually make it to the end.
I still think that the premise of Something Bad Wrong is very promising, and I liked the idea of having the granddaughter trying to create a podcast about the case her grandfather investigated 50 years ago in 1972. There is so much potential to be had with this dual timeline; especially since you get to see up close what exactly went wrong during the original investigation and why the killer escaped justice for so long. That said, I'm not sure if that potential was met in the actual story. I'll try to explain briefly why Something Bad Wrong didn't work as well as expected for me.
I think part of the problem I had was with the main characters. Most of them were just too cliche and one-dimensional; their flaws making up most of their personality and turning them into stereotypes. This made it very hard to connect to the main characters and I didn't particularly care for any of them... They were just too unlikeable and bland. I also wondered what the point of Dan's character was beyond the whole 'trying to spice up the plot', because it only made main character Jess Keeler lose even more credibility (and it makes you wonder even more about her lack of judgement).
I can't put my finger exactly on the why, but there was something about the writing style and pace that just didn't work for me. The majority of Something Bad Wrong is considerably slow and repetitive, and it was simply too easy to just put down my kindle and do other things instead. I know that part of the reason it took me this long to finish the story was the fact that I was on vacation, but I don't think it was the main issue here. The pace did speed up in the last part, but it mostly made the plot feel disjointed and rushed instead of redeeming it.
I also wasn't a fan of how the dual timeline was executed in Something Bad Wrong. The switches between past and present didn't flow naturally and only halted the pace even more instead of the two timelines complementing each other. I understand the need for keeping secrets and not revealing it all to implement plot twists at a later point in the plot, but I felt that the balance was lost here. I also didn't like AT ALL how dementia/Alzheimer was portrayed in this story. Not only did the development of Jim Ballard's symptoms feel too abrupt, but I also thought that the reactions of those close to him weren't portrayed in a realistic way. I almost felt like Alzheimer was used as another plot twist instead of shining a light on what is a devastating disease, and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Last but not least, I also thought that too many aspects of the plot were just too convenient, and the plot as a whole lacked credibility and had more than one plot hole. The fact that you can guess the identity of the killer early on is quite disappointing, and there is no real resolution or satisfying ending to make up for previous flaws. I kind of wish part of the final twist had happened 50 years ago, because it would have ment not having to deal with everything that happens in the present... All in all there is no doubt that Something Bad Wrong has a fantastic premise, but sadly I found the execution to be rather lacking for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Incest, Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Addiction, Death, Dementia, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
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