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bookph1le's review
1.0
Wow, that was startlingly bad. My no-spoiler pet peeves include:
1. An apparent allergy to pronouns on the author's part. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, so it may not annoy others, but it drove me crazy how the author repeatedly used characters' names.
2. This is one of those books where a supposedly canny woman, one who used to be a hard-hitting journalist, suddenly becomes a bit soft in the head because plot.
3. None of the plot twists surprised me. Not a one. This is not because I'm so clever, but because the red herrings and foreshadowing are so heavy-handed that the book practically sits up and screams for the reader to notice them. Well, mission accomplished, book.
4. This book feels so half-baked, especially at the end. It rushes to conclusions and includes a cringe-worthy epilogue that I saw coming from a mile away. The only thing that really kept me reading was my desire to see if I'd figured it out--I had--but the pacing was decent for the most part, until it suddenly petered out. It was like the book was tired of itself and just wanted itself to be over already.
And for one mild spoiler, in which I address the culprit without giving away who the culprit is:
5. The book falls back on the stereotypical "the culprit did it because the culprit was straight-up crazy". I really hate this. It's so lazy and it's such an offensive misunderstanding of how mental illness works. So many mysteries and thrillers do this far too often.
1. An apparent allergy to pronouns on the author's part. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, so it may not annoy others, but it drove me crazy how the author repeatedly used characters' names.
2. This is one of those books where a supposedly canny woman, one who used to be a hard-hitting journalist, suddenly becomes a bit soft in the head because plot.
3. None of the plot twists surprised me. Not a one. This is not because I'm so clever, but because the red herrings and foreshadowing are so heavy-handed that the book practically sits up and screams for the reader to notice them. Well, mission accomplished, book.
4. This book feels so half-baked, especially at the end. It rushes to conclusions and includes a cringe-worthy epilogue that I saw coming from a mile away. The only thing that really kept me reading was my desire to see if I'd figured it out--I had--but the pacing was decent for the most part, until it suddenly petered out. It was like the book was tired of itself and just wanted itself to be over already.
And for one mild spoiler, in which I address the culprit without giving away who the culprit is:
5. The book falls back on the stereotypical "the culprit did it because the culprit was straight-up crazy". I really hate this. It's so lazy and it's such an offensive misunderstanding of how mental illness works. So many mysteries and thrillers do this far too often.
pinktink415's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
stricker's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
victoriaclaire13's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
namitakhanna's review against another edition
3.0
I would rate this book 3 1/2 stars . The mystery is good but I just could not identify with the protagonist. Sarah is married to Jack for 20 some years and has two college going kids with him . She was a reporter but but now writes for an advice column . For being married for so many years she didn't know anything about Jacks past history . Jack takes the silent strong type to an extreme . There was no chemistry between both of them and even though whodunnit is good I just couldn't fully get into the book so am giving it 3 1/2 stars
greatestheights's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
klilja's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
holmstead's review against another edition
4.0
Hmmmm, okay. I think....I think.....I think I liked this one. This one f'd with my head and I think it will continue to do so for a little damn while. So first, I must explain a few things for the reasons behind my current rating and while it may be plus or minus a star for me, I must take you back...back...back to the last week or so....
I think I've mentioned this once or twice: I HATE when life gets in the way of my reading...it's an ongoing problem that I'm sure many of us face. So as I slowly oozed my way into the lives of Sarah and Jack Quinlan, I was extremely distracted by my stupid life, particularly my work life. I'm struggling to balance 2 full-time roles for the moment and my stress meter is about to crumble into loony bits and shards of ugly pieces.
Now, I try to allow myself to forget all that cocka-mamey BS and dissolve into a fictitious world. Little did I know, I was entering the cray-cray of a different animal. The first 60% of this world was brutally depressing, however creepy and therefore I tried to let myself step into the world of someone else's problems....LOL! Oh, how myself and my book-self laaaaaaaaughed! (the nervous creepy kind.)
Sarah helps her husband, Jack, cope with a death of a close family member, be around said husband's family whom she barely knows, not to mention uncovering the mansion-full of skeletons in thy closet (or in this case a farm.) Murder, betrayal, lies, deceit, secrets. Just oodles and oodles of secrets. So I continued on the path of the rabbit-boiling persuasion and got into the story. I gotta tell ya people: the last 5% of this sucker gave my ass goosebumps. All this time, I am trying to put together all these "pieces" (ah, see what I did there?) and all my predictions failed, surprisingly miserably. Gudenkauf can take some sane people, not-so-sane peeps, a secret or 2, throw it in the bottle and shake it all about. Pour out that mess, you got yourself a pretty damn decent thriller. I've read other books by Ms. Gudenkauf and I will announce here and now....I'm forever a fan!
***I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thank-you's to the publisher.***
I think I've mentioned this once or twice: I HATE when life gets in the way of my reading...it's an ongoing problem that I'm sure many of us face. So as I slowly oozed my way into the lives of Sarah and Jack Quinlan, I was extremely distracted by my stupid life, particularly my work life. I'm struggling to balance 2 full-time roles for the moment and my stress meter is about to crumble into loony bits and shards of ugly pieces.
Now, I try to allow myself to forget all that cocka-mamey BS and dissolve into a fictitious world. Little did I know, I was entering the cray-cray of a different animal. The first 60% of this world was brutally depressing, however creepy and therefore I tried to let myself step into the world of someone else's problems....LOL! Oh, how myself and my book-self laaaaaaaaughed! (the nervous creepy kind.)
Sarah helps her husband, Jack, cope with a death of a close family member, be around said husband's family whom she barely knows, not to mention uncovering the mansion-full of skeletons in thy closet (or in this case a farm.) Murder, betrayal, lies, deceit, secrets. Just oodles and oodles of secrets. So I continued on the path of the rabbit-boiling persuasion and got into the story. I gotta tell ya people: the last 5% of this sucker gave my ass goosebumps. All this time, I am trying to put together all these "pieces" (ah, see what I did there?) and all my predictions failed, surprisingly miserably. Gudenkauf can take some sane people, not-so-sane peeps, a secret or 2, throw it in the bottle and shake it all about. Pour out that mess, you got yourself a pretty damn decent thriller. I've read other books by Ms. Gudenkauf and I will announce here and now....I'm forever a fan!
***I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thank-you's to the publisher.***
readingwithbrian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0