Scan barcode
nerdybookqueen's review
slow-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
This book was awful. I would've DNF'd it much earlier but I finished it because it was my book club book this month, and it only got worse.
Minor problem: it was boring, which is awful for a suspense novel. Every time I thought things would get interesting, they just went back to boring again.
I found the writing style very annoying to read. I hate the awkward switching between third and first person and I realize that it was meant to mislead as to who the one character was, but it made it very difficult and frustrating to read. Especially when it continued after the reveal of who the first person character was.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
What actually made me frustrated and dropped this to a one star was two things:
First, the big twist was the first person narrator, the villain, surprise, not a woman, a gay man! This book came out in 2020, are we not past villainizing gay folks? If your only LGBT character is the villain, and that's also your big twist, you're doing something wrong. I would've been more interested if it had been a woman, tbh, because I would've have been so frustrated with this BS. The homophobia trigger warning is for the author, not the book.
And the second part is that the ending is straight out of a different book. Referencing the book as the source for the character's decision to do those things doesn't excuse the fact you copied the plot. If anything the acknowledgement was more annoying.
Minor problem: it was boring, which is awful for a suspense novel. Every time I thought things would get interesting, they just went back to boring again.
I found the writing style very annoying to read. I hate the awkward switching between third and first person and I realize that it was meant to mislead as to who the one character was, but it made it very difficult and frustrating to read. Especially when it continued after the reveal of who the first person character was.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
What actually made me frustrated and dropped this to a one star was two things:
First, the big twist was the first person narrator, the villain, surprise, not a woman, a gay man! This book came out in 2020, are we not past villainizing gay folks? If your only LGBT character is the villain, and that's also your big twist, you're doing something wrong. I would've been more interested if it had been a woman, tbh, because I would've have been so frustrated with this BS. The homophobia trigger warning is for the author, not the book.
And the second part is that the ending is straight out of a different book. Referencing the book as the source for the character's decision to do those things doesn't excuse the fact you copied the plot. If anything the acknowledgement was more annoying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, Death, Dementia, Death of parent, and Grief
gabforshort's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Dementia
Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Sexism
Minor: Death
nadia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I don't think the audiobook is the one for this one! The narrators' voices didn't match the characters in my head, and it was doubly jarring when the perspective shifts and one narrator is doing the voice of another.
Then, I'm very anti spoilers so all I will say is don't read this book if you're currently watching The West Wing or plan to read Stephen King's Misery. I even skipped some parts to avoid further spoilers so don't know the extent reached re the latter reference. But that's me — I'm sure a bunch of people won't mind!
I also felt there were a lot of unnecessary sexist commentary lobbed in...
I also didn't really believe/get invested in the main relationship. The narrator choices probably played into this a lot.
Still, there were moments of intrigue and tension and I remained curious as to how it was all going to end!
Then, I'm very anti spoilers so all I will say is don't read this book if you're currently watching The West Wing or plan to read Stephen King's Misery. I even skipped some parts to avoid further spoilers so don't know the extent reached re the latter reference. But that's me — I'm sure a bunch of people won't mind!
I also felt there were a lot of unnecessary sexist commentary lobbed in...
I also didn't really believe/get invested in the main relationship. The narrator choices probably played into this a lot.
Still, there were moments of intrigue and tension and I remained curious as to how it was all going to end!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
linesiunderline's review
dark
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? Yes
4.0
Here’s a title for this review: a thriller I did not hate by the end. Because friends, I think as much as I want to be a girl who finds satisfaction in all the hyped thrillers, I usually just don’t. Some are fun enough in the moment to keep me drawn to the next hot thing. But often, many of them don’t just leave me rolling my eyes, they leave me mad. (Yucky tropes, utterly crap writing, characters with the complexity of popsicle stick paper dolls...).
So, it is a victory for me to say, this is a 4⭐️ thriller in my book. Here’s why.
The real strength of this book is in the twists. And trust me, I’ve read thrillers where people have said there are excellent twists and the twists are in fact not excellent. I admire Molloy’s ability to keep things really surprising. That’s fun. It’s a ride. The satisfaction of the book is the rollercoaster level of drama.
But the thing is, I’ve learned that if I don’t care about the characters, my overall level of caring is affected. Shocker? Probably not. I don’t think these characters are among the most two dimensional of those in many thrillers, but they’re only vaguely more interesting. It’s about plot here people. We are not in Tana French or Jane Harper characterization territory.
Still, Molloy has my attention and I will try her work again. This is big. I recommend this for a fun weekend of reading!
So, it is a victory for me to say, this is a 4⭐️ thriller in my book. Here’s why.
The real strength of this book is in the twists. And trust me, I’ve read thrillers where people have said there are excellent twists and the twists are in fact not excellent. I admire Molloy’s ability to keep things really surprising. That’s fun. It’s a ride. The satisfaction of the book is the rollercoaster level of drama.
But the thing is, I’ve learned that if I don’t care about the characters, my overall level of caring is affected. Shocker? Probably not. I don’t think these characters are among the most two dimensional of those in many thrillers, but they’re only vaguely more interesting. It’s about plot here people. We are not in Tana French or Jane Harper characterization territory.
Still, Molloy has my attention and I will try her work again. This is big. I recommend this for a fun weekend of reading!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Dementia, Medical content, Mental illness, and Violence
heykels's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
More...