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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
I thought this book had a great premise, but unfortunately it just did not work out for me. I had very little drive to pick the book up and when I did it wasn’t really paying off. I’m not a huge fan of the writing style and the main character just annoyed me. I enjoyed getting to read from the killer’s perspective but it was not enough to get me to finish the book.
medium-paced
“Does a killer’s blood run in the family?”
Lexi Jakes has been running from the past for almost her entire life. One day, her biological mother was murder. On her neck was a red scarf with a chess piece. This is Lexi’s worst nightmare, as it that is the trademark of serial killer, Peter Graves. Peter Graves is Lexi’s father. Now her life is in danger, along with her daughter’s life. Lexi will do anything to keep her daughter safe.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
I do not think this book was well written at all. The first chapter was so boring with all the useless words and metaphors, it barely made me want to continue reading. The first chapter also made me feel like the author was trying to outsmart the reader, but then all the chapters that come are not written like that, so it felt out of place. I was able to figure out the “who” very early on. The author was not clever is trying to trick the reader at all. Moreover, Lexi’s daughter is a two year old but talks like she’s 5 or more. Yes, I know that sometimes there are two year olds that can speak well, but it just felt not likely. I have two children, and I’ve been around children, so I know how *most* two year olds speak; and it definitely was not like how it was written in the book. It made me question the author and the editor for not catching that. As I was able to figure things out pretty quickly, there were no surprises for me; no twists and turns.
Lexi Jakes has been running from the past for almost her entire life. One day, her biological mother was murder. On her neck was a red scarf with a chess piece. This is Lexi’s worst nightmare, as it that is the trademark of serial killer, Peter Graves. Peter Graves is Lexi’s father. Now her life is in danger, along with her daughter’s life. Lexi will do anything to keep her daughter safe.
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
I do not think this book was well written at all. The first chapter was so boring with all the useless words and metaphors, it barely made me want to continue reading. The first chapter also made me feel like the author was trying to outsmart the reader, but then all the chapters that come are not written like that, so it felt out of place. I was able to figure out the “who” very early on. The author was not clever is trying to trick the reader at all. Moreover, Lexi’s daughter is a two year old but talks like she’s 5 or more. Yes, I know that sometimes there are two year olds that can speak well, but it just felt not likely. I have two children, and I’ve been around children, so I know how *most* two year olds speak; and it definitely was not like how it was written in the book. It made me question the author and the editor for not catching that. As I was able to figure things out pretty quickly, there were no surprises for me; no twists and turns.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very similar to another book
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was such a disappointment. YOU HAVE A 'SERIAL KILLER' IN YOUR TITLE AND YOU MAKE THIS BOOK SO BORING THAT I WANTED TO CRY!
The main character, Lexie, is a weak and really stupid protagonist and I couldn't root for her.
You can also guess who is the bad guy quite the moment they appear on the scene.
I should've DNF, I know better.
The main character, Lexie, is a weak and really stupid protagonist and I couldn't root for her.
You can also guess who is the bad guy quite the moment they appear on the scene.
I should've DNF, I know better.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve grown up with a Mum who was really into crime fiction novels so I’m pretty well versed in the genre. I started nicking her books to read when I was 12 and still regularly swap recommendations with her, so when this book came along with a slight twist on the serial killer narrative I was excited to give it a read.
We start the book with the inner monologue of the serial killer who is targetting Lexi, the daughter of famous serial killer Peter Graves, but hardly anyone knows. This serial killer’s internal narrative did a good job of establishing the story but there were sections where one sentence was a paragraph in itself and I found myself rereading them. We discover throughout these sections in the rest of the book that the serial killer is set on revenge for the murders performed by Lexi’s father, specfically targetting his family.
In the next section, we start to follow Lexi, if I’m honest she’s my least favourite character in the book. She is understandably self-involved and paranoid, but she’s also a completely unreliable narrator. We meet Lexi at work, in a job that she doesn’t seem to enjoy where she finds out that her biological mother has been murdered in a copycat style of her father. She then returns home to a partner she seems both besotted with but also untrusting of. She has a young daughter who she smothers with attention and her own anxiety, basically Lexi has a lot of unresolved issues and she could absolutely benefit from counselling. The pacing here was quite slow for me as well, with the evening dragging along and the characters going over and over the same issue. I did wonder if this would end up being a DNF (did not finish) at this point but I persevered…
The next morning Lexi discovers a calling card from the copycat that has her bolting to her safe haven on the island where she grew up post her fathers arrest. At this point she doesn’t tell her partner she’s going, she turns off her phone so he can’t get in touch, and miraculously he doesn’t phone the police to report it? This was so weird to me and not normal. Especially because her partner pulls her up on her drinking, mood, and behaviour the night before. They’re all warning signs of someone who is depressed and might be contemplating something more serious.
We’re then introudced to an array of other characters on the island but to be honest at this point I was really starting to lose interest and was just trying to plough through so I could write this review.
I worked out who the serial killer was pretty early on in the island section and I found the neatly tied up ending (bar one close death) completely underwhelming.
This was a frustrating read for me. So many of Lexi’s issues throughout the book would be simply resolved if she chose to communicate with the people around her. The pacing was also really slow in sections, dragging out conversations or events that could have been wrapped up quickly to keep my interest.
Verdict: Overall this was an ok book, it wasn’t awful, it just really wasn’t for me. I feel like there are similar, and better paced versions of this story so this one didn’t do it for me. 3 starts for effort (I only give 2 to things that just don’t make much sense!)
We start the book with the inner monologue of the serial killer who is targetting Lexi, the daughter of famous serial killer Peter Graves, but hardly anyone knows. This serial killer’s internal narrative did a good job of establishing the story but there were sections where one sentence was a paragraph in itself and I found myself rereading them. We discover throughout these sections in the rest of the book that the serial killer is set on revenge for the murders performed by Lexi’s father, specfically targetting his family.
In the next section, we start to follow Lexi, if I’m honest she’s my least favourite character in the book. She is understandably self-involved and paranoid, but she’s also a completely unreliable narrator. We meet Lexi at work, in a job that she doesn’t seem to enjoy where she finds out that her biological mother has been murdered in a copycat style of her father. She then returns home to a partner she seems both besotted with but also untrusting of. She has a young daughter who she smothers with attention and her own anxiety, basically Lexi has a lot of unresolved issues and she could absolutely benefit from counselling. The pacing here was quite slow for me as well, with the evening dragging along and the characters going over and over the same issue. I did wonder if this would end up being a DNF (did not finish) at this point but I persevered…
The next morning Lexi discovers a calling card from the copycat that has her bolting to her safe haven on the island where she grew up post her fathers arrest. At this point she doesn’t tell her partner she’s going, she turns off her phone so he can’t get in touch, and miraculously he doesn’t phone the police to report it? This was so weird to me and not normal. Especially because her partner pulls her up on her drinking, mood, and behaviour the night before. They’re all warning signs of someone who is depressed and might be contemplating something more serious.
We’re then introudced to an array of other characters on the island but to be honest at this point I was really starting to lose interest and was just trying to plough through so I could write this review.
I worked out who the serial killer was pretty early on in the island section and I found the neatly tied up ending (bar one close death) completely underwhelming.
This was a frustrating read for me. So many of Lexi’s issues throughout the book would be simply resolved if she chose to communicate with the people around her. The pacing was also really slow in sections, dragging out conversations or events that could have been wrapped up quickly to keep my interest.
Verdict: Overall this was an ok book, it wasn’t awful, it just really wasn’t for me. I feel like there are similar, and better paced versions of this story so this one didn’t do it for me. 3 starts for effort (I only give 2 to things that just don’t make much sense!)
Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The description of this book really caught my attention, so I requested it right away! I'm also excited to be a part of the book tour on 05/09/22.
This book is told from multiple POVs. I especially liked the creep factor of the first chapter. It's told from a killer's POV, but we don't know who it is yet. That first chapter is what had me hooked!! I thought the characters were well-developed, the plot was strong, and I definitely couldn't put this one down! The ending was suspenseful and didn't have a clue to who the serial killer was.
Definitely recommend this one to those who love serial killer crime fiction books!
The description of this book really caught my attention, so I requested it right away! I'm also excited to be a part of the book tour on 05/09/22.
This book is told from multiple POVs. I especially liked the creep factor of the first chapter. It's told from a killer's POV, but we don't know who it is yet. That first chapter is what had me hooked!! I thought the characters were well-developed, the plot was strong, and I definitely couldn't put this one down! The ending was suspenseful and didn't have a clue to who the serial killer was.
Definitely recommend this one to those who love serial killer crime fiction books!
So…this one was definitely not for me.
The premise of the novel was cool. Lexi, the daughter of a serial killer, has tried to move on with her life after her father was caught and put in prison. Then a copycat killer murders her biological mom and is probably going after Lexi next. And so it goes.
Right from the beginning, I was not a big fan of the writing but I wanted to give it a fair chance before I made any solid judgments. Unfortunately, it didn’t take me long to know that this was not a good fit for me.
I feel like the most important scenes of the book were skipped entirely and then described quickly at a later time. Lexi goes back to prison to talk to her dad for the first time since she was a kid…and that whole encounter was skipped?? Such a loss.
The characters had strange reactions to things. Constantly “rolling eyes” but not sarcastically, just…looking in certain directions. Lots of waving their arms around. Lots of pauses in their speech. Nate, Lexi’s boyfriend, is supposed to be this calm and loving guy, yet he flies off the handle countless times without letting Lexi even open her mouth to try and explain.
I also felt that most of the book had nothing to do with the original plot. A lot of Lexi being scared and then randomly reminiscing about her childhood and fondly smiling at things (meanwhile, she was just terrified 5 seconds ago). The very end of the book had the reveal (which was not at all surprising) and it was so rushed and glossed over, leaving me to feel extremely underwhelmed.
I don’t say any of this to be mean and I try to be very mindful of my lower star reviews. If the plot sounds like something you’d like, I definitely think you should check it out because you might love it! But these were my issues with the book and unfortunately, I couldn’t find any redeeming qualities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my digital ARC. This one comes out on April 27th!
The premise of the novel was cool. Lexi, the daughter of a serial killer, has tried to move on with her life after her father was caught and put in prison. Then a copycat killer murders her biological mom and is probably going after Lexi next. And so it goes.
Right from the beginning, I was not a big fan of the writing but I wanted to give it a fair chance before I made any solid judgments. Unfortunately, it didn’t take me long to know that this was not a good fit for me.
I feel like the most important scenes of the book were skipped entirely and then described quickly at a later time. Lexi goes back to prison to talk to her dad for the first time since she was a kid…and that whole encounter was skipped?? Such a loss.
The characters had strange reactions to things. Constantly “rolling eyes” but not sarcastically, just…looking in certain directions. Lots of waving their arms around. Lots of pauses in their speech. Nate, Lexi’s boyfriend, is supposed to be this calm and loving guy, yet he flies off the handle countless times without letting Lexi even open her mouth to try and explain.
I also felt that most of the book had nothing to do with the original plot. A lot of Lexi being scared and then randomly reminiscing about her childhood and fondly smiling at things (meanwhile, she was just terrified 5 seconds ago). The very end of the book had the reveal (which was not at all surprising) and it was so rushed and glossed over, leaving me to feel extremely underwhelmed.
I don’t say any of this to be mean and I try to be very mindful of my lower star reviews. If the plot sounds like something you’d like, I definitely think you should check it out because you might love it! But these were my issues with the book and unfortunately, I couldn’t find any redeeming qualities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my digital ARC. This one comes out on April 27th!