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karrahp1's review against another edition
3.0
An incredibly dark story about human nature and suffering. Flynn's middle America comes to life and the town, and the times, almost becomes a character. A good mystery/thriller read.
patt927's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
ev23's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.25
this book started out slow for me but once i got about 1/3 of the way through i flew through it - i would read anything gillian flynn writes and this one ateeeee
mayaxmaya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
beaker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
queen_tassy's review against another edition
2.0
It’s like she wanted to make all characters as unlikable as possible! I spend the whole book frowning. It was long and sometimes over descriptive. What annoyed me the most was how the ending was given as this massive twist but only a blind person wouldn’t have seen it coming.
misha_ali's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
This was an excellent thriller. There are deeply disturbed and traumatized characters, a central mystery that is engaging and twists aplenty (but organic, as we learn information about the events and characters through the dual timelines and not for the sake of being shocking) but it is entirely too long.
The characters are layered and quite unlikeable (which I enjoy!) but the pace is slower than average, which extends this far beyond what I would consider ideal. Overall, though, this is a solid mystery with well-fleshed-out characters and some engaging twists so if that's up your alley, you will likely enjoy it.
Edit: On further reflection, I think the reason I did not find this book satisfying is the ending.We go through so much to find out the final killer and the ending feels deeply unsatisfying because Crystal is on the run, Libby just accepts that Ben allowed their sister to get murdered and then protected his abusive girlfriend and daughter for years after the fact and is just waltzing back into Libby's life now after revealing nothing and showing zero remorse for anything he did. We don't even get to see Diondara's arrest on stage so it all feels rushed and unsatisfying.
The characters are layered and quite unlikeable (which I enjoy!) but the pace is slower than average, which extends this far beyond what I would consider ideal. Overall, though, this is a solid mystery with well-fleshed-out characters and some engaging twists so if that's up your alley, you will likely enjoy it.
Edit: On further reflection, I think the reason I did not find this book satisfying is the ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
sleepytimebooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0