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pagesplotsandpints 's review for:
In a Quiet Town
by Amber Garza
Read Completed 8/15/23 | 3.5 stars
WHEN I WAS YOU (2020) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WHERE I LEFT HER (2021) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A MOTHER WOULD KNOW (2022) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
I've been a big fan of Amber Garza and two of her books were some of my favorites in the years that I read them. I was wildly anticipating the release of IN A QUIET TOWN but didn't really know what to expect from it. I ended up enjoying it but didn't click with it the way I had with her other thrillers.
Amber Garza has shared a lot about her own personal experiences on social media and how her journey with religion/faith/the church played a part in this book. I was a little unsure because I don't always love religious themes, especially when there's a character who is oppressive and condescending when it comes to faith, so I didn't know how this one was going to go. It was definitely a relevant part of the story but it was more to set up character relationships than BEING the story. And it also made sense in the long run of the book and gave a good reason why Adrienne didn't want to share her romantic relationship with her parents and was partially estranged. Admittedly, I found it to be a little distracting in the beginning because I thought Shane (the father, husband, and pastor) was going to be the villain of the book, and I liked that he wasn't. There was more to the story and he was an antagonist, sure, but he wasn't the villain.
Unfortunately, because I was little distracted by the religious/faith aspects, I had a harder time connecting to the beginning of the book and I was unsure what goal we were working toward here. Things started getting a little twistier and I felt like the plot started hitting its stride once it was about a third of the way through. Tatum (the mother) started making headway in her search for her daughter and the clues got interesting.
I think Amber Garza is amazing at twists and there was definitely something I didn't see coming, which I loved! In the end, I think it fell a tiny bit flat and didn't really stand out as much as I wanted it to, but I enjoyed reading the story! I think this one was a bit less "in your head" and psychological but still had plenty of moments where I questioned what was going on.
Another very readable book and not my personal favorite, but I really like that the author got to put part of her story into the book too. She always has themes of family and specifically the mother/child relationship, and I always find her families to be real and full of depth.
WHEN I WAS YOU (2020) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
WHERE I LEFT HER (2021) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A MOTHER WOULD KNOW (2022) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
I've been a big fan of Amber Garza and two of her books were some of my favorites in the years that I read them. I was wildly anticipating the release of IN A QUIET TOWN but didn't really know what to expect from it. I ended up enjoying it but didn't click with it the way I had with her other thrillers.
Amber Garza has shared a lot about her own personal experiences on social media and how her journey with religion/faith/the church played a part in this book. I was a little unsure because I don't always love religious themes, especially when there's a character who is oppressive and condescending when it comes to faith, so I didn't know how this one was going to go. It was definitely a relevant part of the story but it was more to set up character relationships than BEING the story. And it also made sense in the long run of the book and gave a good reason why Adrienne didn't want to share her romantic relationship with her parents and was partially estranged. Admittedly, I found it to be a little distracting in the beginning because I thought Shane (the father, husband, and pastor) was going to be the villain of the book, and I liked that he wasn't. There was more to the story and he was an antagonist, sure, but he wasn't the villain.
Unfortunately, because I was little distracted by the religious/faith aspects, I had a harder time connecting to the beginning of the book and I was unsure what goal we were working toward here. Things started getting a little twistier and I felt like the plot started hitting its stride once it was about a third of the way through. Tatum (the mother) started making headway in her search for her daughter and the clues got interesting.
I think Amber Garza is amazing at twists and there was definitely something I didn't see coming, which I loved! In the end, I think it fell a tiny bit flat and didn't really stand out as much as I wanted it to, but I enjoyed reading the story! I think this one was a bit less "in your head" and psychological but still had plenty of moments where I questioned what was going on.
Another very readable book and not my personal favorite, but I really like that the author got to put part of her story into the book too. She always has themes of family and specifically the mother/child relationship, and I always find her families to be real and full of depth.