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victoriakuo13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would agree with a lot of the other reviews saying this book was slow to start. The varying POVs are interesting once you get a hold of the characters. Before that, it’s like a swamp in your brain where you’re constantly trying to think back and remember whose life you’re reading about.
While most other thrillers I’ve read have been undeniably fast paced, this is the first one I’ve felt has been a slow burn. I’m not sure how I liked it— it was definitely a fridge at times, but I do feel like it made the payoff that much better. I liked feeling like the puzzle pieces were slowly coming together in my head.
I really enjoyed the partnership between Thulin and Hess even though I wish they actually worked together more. I thought they had good chemistry and would love to read another mystery with them in it. There’s so much room for relationship development there and I’m sad it has to end here.
I’m usually absolutely awful at guessing who the murderer is, so I’m kinda shocked that I actually did guess this one. This person was my main suspect from the beginning, and again, I SUCK at piecing these things together so if you’re the type of person who wants to be surprised, you may not be in this case? Or it’s possible I just had very good luck this time around.
There are also a few questions that I still have that I don’t feel were answered in the book but the way the chapters are structured so that something is revealed and then the author explains it fully many chapters later may be the reason why. I may have just missed it.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Confinement
essie__reads's review
- 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
5.0
Please be advised to look up content warnings!!!!!!
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Confinement, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Stalking, Violence, Torture, Trafficking, and Vomit
sorcery_and_stories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Blood, Child abuse, Torture, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness
adrianerrr's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Gore
cheyraisin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, and Gore
fictionaladventures's review
2.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child death, Kidnapping, and Torture
tajosima's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Gore, Stalking, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Confinement, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder, Medical content, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape
booksbytheglass's review
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
okay, first of all, y’all truly lied to me and said this was the creepiest book you’ve ever read. was it creepy? sure. was it gory? definitely. was it horror? I would say…. no? it’s borderline at best.
I really wanted to like this one - especially after reading all of “the girl who” series and loving the dutch nordic aspects of it. HOWEVER, this one just wouldn’t die (I mean … end …)
yes, the book is dauntingly long, and yes, it’s drawn out - but the chapters are super short which makes flipping through it super easy! it really didn’t feel as large as it looked.
the characters definitely took a bit to warm up to, and remember all of their names my goodness, and I think that’s what put me off the most. the chapters flipped POVs so quickly that I barely got one scene down before I was thrust into another with another character that I knew absolutely nothing about.
I think if the book had stuck with just thulin, hess and rosa’s POV, I would have felt a lot better about keeping up with the storyline.
and for those of you who kept telling me to wait and wait and wait for the plot twist? I did, and it really wasn’t anything to write home about. once rosa’s reveal happened, I pretty much put the pieces together myself a lot quicker than the detectives did lololol :’)
I’m very glad I dove into this one and tackled it, and I would recommend it to anyone interested - but probably not high on my re-read list 👀
rating: 2.75 stars
wine pairing: denmark claret wine
Graphic: Gore and Child abuse
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death
sarah_speaks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Body horror, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Stalking, Pedophilia, Gore, Blood, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Sexual content
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Alcoholism
tillyarvabelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
1.5
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Death