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just_alyx's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
sjandersen's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bluebelle_reads's review
3.0
This was a solid 3.5 star read for me. The .5 is for the ending because I wasn’t expecting it. But overall the story was so slow to come to a head. I understand needing all that background for the end to make sense but at the same time I feel it could have been done differently somehow. I feel underwhelmed
imonyourside's review
5.0
While the multiple povs were overwhelming at points, the book is a fun page turner that keeps you guessing. I really appreciated how everything tied together (as unlikely as it might be) and certainly didn’t see that ending coming.
darcys01's review against another edition
4.0
Atmospheric. Interesting characters. Held my attention all the way through. Satisfying ending.
jampsonn16's review against another edition
4.0
Solid 3.75 stars
As you can guess, I'm still having my struggles with adult mystery thrillers and their general lack of intrigue and shooketh factor that I'm looking for. This was a bit of a step up because there were a few surprising things, but in the end it still fell a bit flat for me.
Let's start with the positive: this kept me engaged, I was actually interested in our characters' backstories, it's not that easy to guess who gets killed or who the killer is, and the ending wasn't terrible. I found myself looking forward to picking this up once I put it down and it was an enjoyable ride while it lasted.
Now let's go with the negative. Small thing but biggy for me: the atmosphere. Personally, I didn't really feel the creepiness that Foley was trying to convey. She spent so much time describing the island - how it looked, where it was located, what the earth was like, what the building looked like etc. I know this was to create intrigue and give us a sense of location, but I couldn't visualize it that well and a lot of the terms she used (i.e. folly, peat bog, turf, etc.) were lost on me because I'm not familiar with them. When she said peat bog, I had to stop and google what that was. When she said folly, I had to remind myself that that was the building. Just small things that helped contribute to my overall meh feeling about the story.
The main thing that makes this story not perfect for me is its predictability. I love a good "a-ha" moment when you get confirmation that you were right in your early assumptions, but I tend to hate when you're right about almost everything. After we first heard Olivia's story and how it was connected, the rest of the pieces just started falling into place, but it wasn't as satisfying to watch it all come to an end. The only shining beacon of light was discovering who the killer was and their motives - even though I guessed it, it was such a great moment.
I'd recommend this above other adult thrillers - it will likely keep you engaged and invested, which is more than I can say for the others I've read. But if you're a seasoned reader of this genre, the twists and revelations probably won't surprise you.
As you can guess, I'm still having my struggles with adult mystery thrillers and their general lack of intrigue and shooketh factor that I'm looking for. This was a bit of a step up because there were a few surprising things, but in the end it still fell a bit flat for me.
Let's start with the positive: this kept me engaged, I was actually interested in our characters' backstories, it's not that easy to guess who gets killed or who the killer is, and the ending wasn't terrible. I found myself looking forward to picking this up once I put it down and it was an enjoyable ride while it lasted.
Now let's go with the negative. Small thing but biggy for me: the atmosphere. Personally, I didn't really feel the creepiness that Foley was trying to convey. She spent so much time describing the island - how it looked, where it was located, what the earth was like, what the building looked like etc. I know this was to create intrigue and give us a sense of location, but I couldn't visualize it that well and a lot of the terms she used (i.e. folly, peat bog, turf, etc.) were lost on me because I'm not familiar with them. When she said peat bog, I had to stop and google what that was. When she said folly, I had to remind myself that that was the building. Just small things that helped contribute to my overall meh feeling about the story.
The main thing that makes this story not perfect for me is its predictability. I love a good "a-ha" moment when you get confirmation that you were right in your early assumptions, but I tend to hate when you're right about almost everything. After we first heard Olivia's story and how it was connected, the rest of the pieces just started falling into place, but it wasn't as satisfying to watch it all come to an end. The only shining beacon of light was discovering who the killer was and their motives - even though I guessed it, it was such a great moment.
I'd recommend this above other adult thrillers - it will likely keep you engaged and invested, which is more than I can say for the others I've read. But if you're a seasoned reader of this genre, the twists and revelations probably won't surprise you.
wrenemy's review against another edition
4.0
what murdah?? give me terrible men, good female character development and an interesting setting and I will enjoy it almost 100% of the time
booksalacarte's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
mayaromero111's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed it! I liked getting to read the story from different perspectives and time frames. Was a bit far fetched at times but still liked it a lot.