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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
archaicrobin's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I remember reading The Perfect Mother, also by Malloy years ago and loving it. I had such high expectations and none of them were met. This is one of the poorest written thrillers I’ve read in a long time, and a huge disappointment.
Sam is a therapist that likes to lie to his wife and spend 2 million dollars they don’t have. Sam goes missing and said wife stumbles around trying to find him. The novel is from different perspectives, none of which are interesting or cohesive. I hated every character in this book. When Sam went missing, I did not care. When main characters’s lives were in danger I did not care. The characterization and writing were so mediocre in this, I had to make myself sit down and read it.
Along with the subpar character and writing, is the atrocious plot and confusing plot twists. In The Perfect Mother, every twist was well thought out and explained. In Goodnight Beautiful, every twist was confusing, stupid, and a cheap shot at being shocking. There is also so much problematic dialogue from every single character. With the very thinly veiled misogyny, classism, and ignorance in this book I was shocked to see it was published as recently as 2020.
The plot in this book is a mix of Gone Girl and The Shining. Like the author chose her favorite books and just decided to rewrite them with the lamest, most unrealistic ending she could think of. I’m not sure what happened between her debut novel and this release, but it ain’t for me! This thriller came off as a Lifetime Drama where nothing really makes any sense or is any good, but it has all the tropes. If you love Lifetime made for tv moves this could be for you.
Sam is a therapist that likes to lie to his wife and spend 2 million dollars they don’t have. Sam goes missing and said wife stumbles around trying to find him. The novel is from different perspectives, none of which are interesting or cohesive. I hated every character in this book. When Sam went missing, I did not care. When main characters’s lives were in danger I did not care. The characterization and writing were so mediocre in this, I had to make myself sit down and read it.
Along with the subpar character and writing, is the atrocious plot and confusing plot twists. In The Perfect Mother, every twist was well thought out and explained. In Goodnight Beautiful, every twist was confusing, stupid, and a cheap shot at being shocking. There is also so much problematic dialogue from every single character. With the very thinly veiled misogyny, classism, and ignorance in this book I was shocked to see it was published as recently as 2020.
The plot in this book is a mix of Gone Girl and The Shining. Like the author chose her favorite books and just decided to rewrite them with the lamest, most unrealistic ending she could think of. I’m not sure what happened between her debut novel and this release, but it ain’t for me! This thriller came off as a Lifetime Drama where nothing really makes any sense or is any good, but it has all the tropes. If you love Lifetime made for tv moves this could be for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny
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