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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
5.0
Damn this was good. Poignant. What a true mystery should be, and being that it’s nonfiction, surpasses the mystery often found in novels. No hokey twists that extrapolate some corny lessons. As the title states, “An Unexplained Death”, treated humanely and deeply considered. I’d never heard of the author or the book before, just perusing the bookstore. Glad I bought it.
cemoses's review against another edition
4.0
This book has a confusing and morbid beginning. It starts off by saying people go to hotels to commit suicide. Then the book describes how the hotels clean up after the bodies are found. Furthermore, the author's puts in some personal information that has no relevance to the main point of the book. She describes how she always felt invisible. There seems to be no purpose in providing the reader with this information. I was almost halfway through the book when I realized that Mikita was a woman not a man; the author refers to her "partner" a lot; for much of the book I thought the author and her partner were two gay men in a relationship.
Once the book focuses on the "unexplained" death, it becomes more interesting. The author succeeds in making the person who died seem real and one feels for the victim and his family. The author comes up with a believable theory of what might have happened. Also, she describes some of the suicides that have happened in the Belvedere when it was a hotel. These suicides seem less morbid then the suicides described in the beginning of the book. Some of these suicides have a historical interest. Treatment for depression has improved and the stigma around suicides has been reduced over the years.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Once the book focuses on the "unexplained" death, it becomes more interesting. The author succeeds in making the person who died seem real and one feels for the victim and his family. The author comes up with a believable theory of what might have happened. Also, she describes some of the suicides that have happened in the Belvedere when it was a hotel. These suicides seem less morbid then the suicides described in the beginning of the book. Some of these suicides have a historical interest. Treatment for depression has improved and the stigma around suicides has been reduced over the years.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
mesy_mark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
Rey River died at the Belvedere and Brottman spent ten years looking into his death obsessed with whether it really was a homicide or suicide. A neat fact is the author lives in the building the man died in and so she connects his death to the other deaths that have happened in the old building since its opening. I recorded the case from the Netflix TV show Unexplained and knew it was suspicious circumstances around his death. The author rails away through every trail that is believed to answer her nagging question. Because she is obsessed with true crime, she looks into other deaths at the building, which pads this book. It is interesting to listen to a building history of homicides/suicides as I listened to this book through audiobook format. Because it was a focus on River. we looked into his history of business as it believed his business is what killed him, It was interesting. The author made it personal by incorporating her prevalent feelings of being invisible throughout the text and how she believed it impacted her work. It did get a little confusing between jumping from one set of deaths to another and when in the timeline things were. Overall it is more than a look at one body at Belvedere although it is fully investigated but the many bodies at the building.
missmim's review against another edition
4.0
An eerie and rather morbid book. About the Rey Rivera case, yes, but also about suicides at the Belvedere since its opening. Tough to read if you have any experience with that. It’s an exceptionally well researched book, and really well written. I couldn’t put it down.
jane_kelsey's review against another edition
2.0
This book has an interesting premise: the suicide of man from the top of Belvedere hotel from the POV of a an occupant of that building after it's changed into apartments. However, for me, it failed to deliver. The narrative felt disjointed and mismatched, not sure on what it wanted to achieve or knowing how. The beginning was interesting however I struggled to maintain attention on it. Although finding some fact interesting, especially those about suicide, I do not think that the current format does this book's justice.
beastreader's review against another edition
1.0
I agree with some of the other readers that this book felt discombobulated. It didn't flow very smoothly. It was like there were so many details and facts that the author wanted to include in the book that they were all thrown into the story. This is sad as I was looking forward to reading this book.
When it came to the main character, Rey, it was like I knew him but also didn't really know him at the same time. Just like his death in the beginning, Rey was a mystery to me. Ok, so people close to Rey did not think that he would commit suicide, so it must have been murder. Yet, on the other hand, others did believe that he could take his own life.
With the structure of the book and the fact that I lost interest in the story itself fairly early on; did not help the situation. After a while, I jumped ahead to the ending just so I could find out the truth. There was potential in the book but just missed the mark.
When it came to the main character, Rey, it was like I knew him but also didn't really know him at the same time. Just like his death in the beginning, Rey was a mystery to me. Ok, so people close to Rey did not think that he would commit suicide, so it must have been murder. Yet, on the other hand, others did believe that he could take his own life.
With the structure of the book and the fact that I lost interest in the story itself fairly early on; did not help the situation. After a while, I jumped ahead to the ending just so I could find out the truth. There was potential in the book but just missed the mark.
erincataldi's review against another edition
4.0
Super dark and enthralling. Mikita Brottman investigates a mysterious death in her apartment building, while also referencing back to the former hotel's sordid past as a den of suicides and murders. Rey Rivera's death raises questions not only for his family, but for the media as well. This you successful married man, ran out of the house one day never to be seen again. When he was found over a week later, it was most perplexing. It was as if he did a running leap of the thirteenth floor and landed feet-first into the former pool. He clearly died on impact, but was it suicide or something else? Since the death occurred in Mikita's building she takes a massive interest in the case. Obsessively following it for over a decade. An Unexplained Death is part historical portrait of The Belvedere (the current apartment building and former luxury hotel), part memoir (at least of the author's neuroses, fears, and mental health), part look at suicide, and part investigation into Rey Rivera's death. There's a lot going on, but it all meshes really well together and creates a unique format is hard to put down.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting but super weird. It is as much about Brottman's own perceptions of herself as it is about the actual death she is investigating. It's definitely an experience, let's put it that way.
katelynelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This book reads like a fascinating trine crime podcast- full of incredible details and twisting theories, yet never boring with too much detail. The author will write for several pages about the death of Rey Rivera and then seamlessly transition into a topic that seems to have no relevance (such as a 1920 murder) but somehow, it works. Full of history and stories from the past, this book jumps around but always centers on several main themes. I couldn’t wait to read this every day- it was one of those books I brought along in my purse everywhere I went, just in case I had an extra 2 minutes to burn while waiting in line or getting a manicure.
Highly recommend. I only wish she would have solved the mystery before it wrapped up. :(
This book reads like a fascinating trine crime podcast- full of incredible details and twisting theories, yet never boring with too much detail. The author will write for several pages about the death of Rey Rivera and then seamlessly transition into a topic that seems to have no relevance (such as a 1920 murder) but somehow, it works. Full of history and stories from the past, this book jumps around but always centers on several main themes. I couldn’t wait to read this every day- it was one of those books I brought along in my purse everywhere I went, just in case I had an extra 2 minutes to burn while waiting in line or getting a manicure.
Highly recommend. I only wish she would have solved the mystery before it wrapped up. :(
bntyle01's review against another edition
1.0
The author keeps saying she’s invisible or she’s the problem in investigating, but this book is misnamed. I learned absolutely nothing about this case. I learned a lot about the author, she is notably not absent from this book. This is about the investigators investigation not about the case.