Reviews with content warning for Car accident - La dernière chose qu'il m'a dite

I don't really know how to classify this story. It isn't a thriller or a mystery. Suspense maybe? There's this lady, Hannah, who's husband takes off and disappears and leaves her with his daughter, a big scandal at his job and a whole bunch of secrets unfold and she starts to wonder if she ever knew who he truly was. However, the book spends equal amount of time building the relationship between her and her beloved stepdaughter (who hates her back). That part of the story I thought was done quite well, for the most part, although I can't say I really enjoyed it, because who really enjoys the angry outburts of teenagers. However, it needed to be there or that part of the story wouldn't have been believable. With Hannah going through a lot also, it would have made more sense for her to feel upset at least once when Bailey lashed out at her, even if she managed to keep it inside. She was always so unbelievably understanding and patient and perfect and all she ever did "wrong" was when the leads she was following with Bailey didn't come through and Bailey would get upset. Because Hannah was likeable, it didn't bother me while I was reading the book, but more afterwards, when I was thinking about it. The mystery part was fine and unraveled nicely. I won't say too much about it because I don't want to give it away.

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hollymileham's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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? Yes

4.25

ive just read this in one 3 hour sitting so it definitely grabbed my intention and kept it which is impressive for me lately, it was really good but i just feel like it could have benefited from a bit more shock (although maybe im just too desensitised) but one thing i did really enjoy was the growth between bailey and hannah
the bloody trauma for bailey in this book. poor girl

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nikimorr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It took me awhile to read this book. I was very interested to know what was going on, so I knew I’d finish, but I wasn’t entranced by it. I left it sitting for awhile. Overall, though, a quality story and well-written. The ending was by far the biggest redeemer for me. I thought it was perfect.

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becca_w_'s review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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? No

2.75

I only read this for a Storygraph reading challenge, and almost didn't finish. It starts out alright, and the female protagonist is strong, but by 80% I hated it. I didn't like the unnecessary misdirect of there only being 2 (bad) reasons to change your name, found Hannah's conclusions made less and less sense, dislike obligatory one-dimensional angry teen characters, and don't understand how you don't notice the piggy bank isn't full of coins.

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