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crystal1978's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bookishwyvern07's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sharron_joy_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Melanie is new to town and takes a job reading to Lisa Randolph, the teenage daughter of a wealthy family who is paralysed and mute since a cliff fall. As Melanie spends time with Lisa she realises she is trying to communicate that her fall was not an accident, can Melanie find the truth before it all ends badly?
Another scrumptious slice of nostalgia, as usual this is a mix of mystery, madness and really weird adults! The dark brooding gardener, the devoted boyfriend, the missing backpacker, the stern housekeeper, the devoted but absent father, the holidaying parents, the jealous girlfriend, they are such cliches but make this a really fun old fashioned murder mystery, I loved it!
The adults are so neglectful in these books and then turn up just as the teens have saved themselves, hilarious!
book_worm23's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
yche09's review
3.0
This was mildly entertaining. I like how they used a classic book to go with the plot. I just wish that the title is more attuned to the plot. Saaayy..."The Reader" or "Paralyzed". Just saying.
saramackenzi's review
3.0
So I read this book because I found it in my basement in a box with old books from when I was a child. This actually used to be my mother's book when she was younger and she gave it to me when she realized I liked reading. Now granted, perhaps I shouldn’t have read this YA Horror at the ripe old age of 7 but I mean. . . I read the first Harry Potter book around the same age and there’s death there too so oh well.
The atmosphere in this book is one I really enjoy. A large house on a cliff, a foggy/rainy town, a mystery that needs to be solved, everyone being a suspect. This is the same kind of atmosphere you get in Agatha Christie’s book: And Then There Were None, which happens to be one of my favorites. This is really just a classic 90’s light horror book.
This isn’t gory or anything like that so I think it’s a nice book to start out if you’re looking for older horrors that are kind of on the tipping stone of actually being considered horror. If I didn’t know that this was specifically a horror novel I would consider it more of a thriller but I suppose those two genres often overlap.
I’m not sure whose idea it was to title the book The Body and add a dead body to the front and then in the description talk about a secret that needs to be told. Like uhm are you trying to spoil the book?
Now when I read this at the age of 7 I probably would have given this a 5/5 because let’s be honest I wasn’t really reading that many horror books so this would’ve been so cool to me. And obviously, it left an impact on me because I remembered the plot and specifically went looking for this book in our basement. However, reading it now it’s definitely more of a 3/5. It wasn’t bad, I don’t regret going on a search for it but it’s not the best either. I did enjoy this reread, it is pretty quick and I finished it in around an hour so if you spot this book somewhere and would like to feel a bit nostalgic, maybe pick it up.
The atmosphere in this book is one I really enjoy. A large house on a cliff, a foggy/rainy town, a mystery that needs to be solved, everyone being a suspect. This is the same kind of atmosphere you get in Agatha Christie’s book: And Then There Were None, which happens to be one of my favorites. This is really just a classic 90’s light horror book.
This isn’t gory or anything like that so I think it’s a nice book to start out if you’re looking for older horrors that are kind of on the tipping stone of actually being considered horror. If I didn’t know that this was specifically a horror novel I would consider it more of a thriller but I suppose those two genres often overlap.
I’m not sure whose idea it was to title the book The Body and add a dead body to the front and then in the description talk about a secret that needs to be told. Like uhm are you trying to spoil the book?
Now when I read this at the age of 7 I probably would have given this a 5/5 because let’s be honest I wasn’t really reading that many horror books so this would’ve been so cool to me. And obviously, it left an impact on me because I remembered the plot and specifically went looking for this book in our basement. However, reading it now it’s definitely more of a 3/5. It wasn’t bad, I don’t regret going on a search for it but it’s not the best either. I did enjoy this reread, it is pretty quick and I finished it in around an hour so if you spot this book somewhere and would like to feel a bit nostalgic, maybe pick it up.
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