Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

4 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

While I think this book was a little overhyped on TikTok, I still found the premise and the story arc interesting. It was a little different than most thriller/murder mysteries I’ve read in the past. The narrator is unreliable yet likeable. There were a lot of twists and turns, some expected and others unexpected. The ending is a little bit of a cliffhanger which is fun and leaves the reader wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Stalking, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

itsheyfay's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

I rated this book a 7 out of 10. I was pulled into this thriller, and I love the idea of undercover work. Evie shows her cleverness over the years and pulls ahead in work. Some sections felt repetitive, but I liked how everything was revealed for a reason. I wish there had been some character development; the characters themselves were a bit flat.

This story is a quick read, but slow paced (if that makes any sense) game of cat-and-mouse. We watch the back and forth of Evie's work and personal life while she tries to keep it from crumbling.

The major plot of the story is introduced in chapters 1 and 2. We follow Evie in her undercover scheme for the first half of the book. In the second half, we have an altered plot and follow Evie in her con artist scheme. It is a bit basic at times, but the plot keeps pushing forward.

The flashbacks to Evie's previous jobs threw me through a loop a few times. It wasn't always clear why any of those moments were important. Eventually, it all comes full circle, and we understand, but I think they were more randomly distributed rather than strategically placed.

I'1l say it again here: there is next to zero character development. Here's a character at face value, and there is nothing added. I wish there would have been more there (maybe in the flashbacks) where we could understand more about the characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Cursing

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Cancer

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Gaslighting, Violence, Alcoholism, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use