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spacepenguin22's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
5.0
Six friends are off to a festival: three women, three men, three couples. They have known each other for ages, some have gone from friends to lovers, and this festival is like a rite to say goodbye to their youth and welcome adulthood. They’re having a great time, until one of them is attacked at night. The others jump in and the attacker dies. The logical thing to do would be to call the police. But they don’t. Something like mass hysteria kicks in, they convince themselves and each other that they will be blamed and they decide to bury the man instead. So far so good, but then they stumble over another body in the woods, a young man, a red candle in a storm lantern next to him. They have to assume this is a victim of the elusive Candle Man, a serial killer whose trademark is exactly that: leaving a red candle in a storm lantern by the body, a killer whose very existence is denied by the authorities, but legend has it he is responsible for many more bodies than those actually found. And if this is the Candle Man’s victim, does that mean they’ve just killed the killer?
Wowsers! That was one creepy as hell start! The tension simmers down a little after this epic opening, and we fast-forward a year to the current events, while alternatingly going back to the 90s so get to know our characters a little better. A year after what happened in the woods, two of the three couples have fallen apart and then tragedy strikes again when one the six friends dies. Is it suicide because he couldn’t live with the secret anymore, or does someone know what they did last summer and was he punished for it? And in that case, will they be picked off one by one?
Told in the first person from the POV of one of the characters, The Six takes you on quite the rollercoaster ride! There’s an underlying tension, a constant threat simmering just below the surface, and you can’t help but wonder who will be next. I was also dying to figure out what was what! Loads of questions and zero answers propelled me through the book in search of answers. And let me tell you, the answers I got were ones I hadn’t expected in the least!
I also loved the 90s vibe emanating from the pages right from the start. I’m about the same age as the characters, so their nostalgia is my nostalgia and I felt right at home with the six.
So there you have it: I loved everything about this book! I really enjoyed The Bone Keeper last year, but with The Six, Luca Veste really knocks it out of the park! If you’re in the mood for a creepy, suspenseful thriller, look no more and pick up The Six!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
Wowsers! That was one creepy as hell start! The tension simmers down a little after this epic opening, and we fast-forward a year to the current events, while alternatingly going back to the 90s so get to know our characters a little better. A year after what happened in the woods, two of the three couples have fallen apart and then tragedy strikes again when one the six friends dies. Is it suicide because he couldn’t live with the secret anymore, or does someone know what they did last summer and was he punished for it? And in that case, will they be picked off one by one?
Told in the first person from the POV of one of the characters, The Six takes you on quite the rollercoaster ride! There’s an underlying tension, a constant threat simmering just below the surface, and you can’t help but wonder who will be next. I was also dying to figure out what was what! Loads of questions and zero answers propelled me through the book in search of answers. And let me tell you, the answers I got were ones I hadn’t expected in the least!
I also loved the 90s vibe emanating from the pages right from the start. I’m about the same age as the characters, so their nostalgia is my nostalgia and I felt right at home with the six.
So there you have it: I loved everything about this book! I really enjoyed The Bone Keeper last year, but with The Six, Luca Veste really knocks it out of the park! If you’re in the mood for a creepy, suspenseful thriller, look no more and pick up The Six!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
pitmanj18's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant! Keeps you on the edge of your seat and did not see the twist in the end coming at all. No spoilers from me though!
smilesgiggle's review against another edition
3.0
A group of friends go to a music festival, mostly 1990s artists and impersonators. They have been friends for decades - with adult life before them - i.e. marriage, owning a house, kids. This is their last chance to be wild together.
Stuart walks into the woods to pee - inadvertently interrupts the Candle Man, a serial killer the police refuse to acknowledge. The six friends defend themselves, and kill the attacker. They agree to bury the body and never speak of it again.
Over the next year, guild builds as their friendship dissolves.
Until Stuart throws himself under a train. Or was he pushed?
I loved the premise for this book - creative and creepy. At times, it was slow moving yet it held my interest. It just wasn't creepy enough. Needed more suspense, less linear plot.
Stuart walks into the woods to pee - inadvertently interrupts the Candle Man, a serial killer the police refuse to acknowledge. The six friends defend themselves, and kill the attacker. They agree to bury the body and never speak of it again.
Over the next year, guild builds as their friendship dissolves.
Until Stuart throws himself under a train. Or was he pushed?
I loved the premise for this book - creative and creepy. At times, it was slow moving yet it held my interest. It just wasn't creepy enough. Needed more suspense, less linear plot.
michaela95c's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! What a wild ride this book was and it had a great twist that I honestly didn’t see coming. Another great book by Luca Veste!!
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
The Silence by Luca Veste is a suspenseful mystery.
Matt Connolly and his partner, Alexandra Thompson, join their long time friends Chris and Nicola and Stuart and Michelle for a weekend music festival in the country. After a fun-filled weekend, Matt awakens to screams and going to investigate, he finds Stuart locked in a fight with a stranger. As the rest of their friends join them, they do everything in their power to save Stuart. Unfortunately, they kill the stranger in the process and after much discussion, they decide to cover up the death.
A year later, their lives and friendships are forever altered. When one of their friends dies, Matt is wracked with guilt and decides to look deeper into what happened that weekend. He also takes an in-depth look into the much rumored serial killer dubbed the Candle Man. Although the police dismiss the Candle Man, Matt becomes certain the speculation is true. And he is also convinced the Candle Man (or perhaps his partner) is targeting him and his friends. Will Matt uncover the truth about the Candle Man before he (or one of his friends) becomes the serial killer's next victim?
Matt's circumstances have changed the most and he is now only in contact with his best friend Chris. Matt works from home which is very fortunate since he can barely bring himself to leave the house. Always looking over his shoulder and compulsively checking the locks on the windows and doors, he can barely bring himself to attend his mate's funeral. Afterwards, he is very concerned for Michelle's safety and Matt tries to convince him to stay with him or a family member.
Matt fights through his fears and begins to search in earnest for information on the Candle Man. Armed with new details and completely certain the Candle Man is not a myth, he heads back to where their troubles began one year earlier. With a suspect in mind, he becomes even more frightened for his and his friends safety. Desperate to stop the Candle Man, Matt recklessly continues his investigation in spite of the increasing danger. Will Matt find the serial killer before it is too late?
The Silence is an engrossing mystery with an intriguing premise and engaging characters. The storyline is interesting and unfolds at a steady pace. Narrator Matt's fear and anxiety are palpable as he frantically tries to unmask the Candle Man. With a shocking plot twist, Luca Veste brings this mesmerizing mystery to a breathless conclusion. Fans of the genre will enjoy this clever mystery.
Matt Connolly and his partner, Alexandra Thompson, join their long time friends Chris and Nicola and Stuart and Michelle for a weekend music festival in the country. After a fun-filled weekend, Matt awakens to screams and going to investigate, he finds Stuart locked in a fight with a stranger. As the rest of their friends join them, they do everything in their power to save Stuart. Unfortunately, they kill the stranger in the process and after much discussion, they decide to cover up the death.
A year later, their lives and friendships are forever altered. When one of their friends dies, Matt is wracked with guilt and decides to look deeper into what happened that weekend. He also takes an in-depth look into the much rumored serial killer dubbed the Candle Man. Although the police dismiss the Candle Man, Matt becomes certain the speculation is true. And he is also convinced the Candle Man (or perhaps his partner) is targeting him and his friends. Will Matt uncover the truth about the Candle Man before he (or one of his friends) becomes the serial killer's next victim?
Matt's circumstances have changed the most and he is now only in contact with his best friend Chris. Matt works from home which is very fortunate since he can barely bring himself to leave the house. Always looking over his shoulder and compulsively checking the locks on the windows and doors, he can barely bring himself to attend his mate's funeral. Afterwards, he is very concerned for Michelle's safety and Matt tries to convince him to stay with him or a family member.
Matt fights through his fears and begins to search in earnest for information on the Candle Man. Armed with new details and completely certain the Candle Man is not a myth, he heads back to where their troubles began one year earlier. With a suspect in mind, he becomes even more frightened for his and his friends safety. Desperate to stop the Candle Man, Matt recklessly continues his investigation in spite of the increasing danger. Will Matt find the serial killer before it is too late?
The Silence is an engrossing mystery with an intriguing premise and engaging characters. The storyline is interesting and unfolds at a steady pace. Narrator Matt's fear and anxiety are palpable as he frantically tries to unmask the Candle Man. With a shocking plot twist, Luca Veste brings this mesmerizing mystery to a breathless conclusion. Fans of the genre will enjoy this clever mystery.
stephanie_ebbert's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
cait_demorato's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
noveldeelights's review against another edition
4.0
Despite having had Luca Veste’s previous book, The Bone Collector, stashed away somewhere for ages, this is actually my first time reading one of his books. I mean, who could possibly resist that incredibly intriguing book description, right?
Six friends decide to spend a weekend camping out at a music festival. This could be the last time they can do something like this together before responsibilities get in the way and they are determined to make the most of this weekend away. But things do not exactly go as planned. Someone dies. The six friends vow never to talk to anyone about what happened that weekend and yet, it seems someone knows what they did and the time has come for the six to pay the price.
The Six ended up being somewhat of a story in two parts for me. The actual events of that weekend are super tense and sometimes slightly creepy in that whole “I’m never setting foot in a forest or going camping ever again” kind of way. This first half grabbed my attention from the get-go. It was utterly compelling and a true page-turner. However, the second half slowed down quite a bit and became just a tad predictable, in that way where you know what’s coming and if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll figure out the who rather easily as well. I almost I reached that point where I thought “just wrap it up already”, and that’s never a good sign.
Nevertheless, as a whole, The Six is gripping and a well-written suspenseful crime thriller with extremely fun back-to-the-90’s vibes, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s clever, hugely character driven and quite unsettling at times. In the midst of a reading slump, I read this one in one afternoon and despite some of my misgivings, I think that’s really saying something. I’m calling my first introduction to Luca Veste’s books a success and I’ll definitely be trying one of his books again some time.
Six friends decide to spend a weekend camping out at a music festival. This could be the last time they can do something like this together before responsibilities get in the way and they are determined to make the most of this weekend away. But things do not exactly go as planned. Someone dies. The six friends vow never to talk to anyone about what happened that weekend and yet, it seems someone knows what they did and the time has come for the six to pay the price.
The Six ended up being somewhat of a story in two parts for me. The actual events of that weekend are super tense and sometimes slightly creepy in that whole “I’m never setting foot in a forest or going camping ever again” kind of way. This first half grabbed my attention from the get-go. It was utterly compelling and a true page-turner. However, the second half slowed down quite a bit and became just a tad predictable, in that way where you know what’s coming and if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll figure out the who rather easily as well. I almost I reached that point where I thought “just wrap it up already”, and that’s never a good sign.
Nevertheless, as a whole, The Six is gripping and a well-written suspenseful crime thriller with extremely fun back-to-the-90’s vibes, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s clever, hugely character driven and quite unsettling at times. In the midst of a reading slump, I read this one in one afternoon and despite some of my misgivings, I think that’s really saying something. I’m calling my first introduction to Luca Veste’s books a success and I’ll definitely be trying one of his books again some time.