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rylin_marie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
omggggg i love this series !!!
okay so for a while i shipped stevie and david, then stevie and nate, then stevie and hunter, and then overall picked david.
the ellingham family is so dear to my heart i love them. and dottie epstein !! they all deserved sm better my heart breaks for them all.
the only thing that annoys me is the stereotyping. this book automatically assumed all republicans are bad and racist and sexist which def isn’t true. i get there are DEFINITELY some people (not just republicans) like that and its completely disgusting bhr just assuming they all are is kinda annoying ?
okay so for a while i shipped stevie and david, then stevie and nate, then stevie and hunter, and then overall picked david.
the ellingham family is so dear to my heart i love them. and dottie epstein !! they all deserved sm better my heart breaks for them all.
the only thing that annoys me is the stereotyping. this book automatically assumed all republicans are bad and racist and sexist which def isn’t true. i get there are DEFINITELY some people (not just republicans) like that and its completely disgusting bhr just assuming they all are is kinda annoying ?
(if we’re being so fr i hated david for like 99% of the series and tbh im still not a huge fan 😭)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
itsheyfay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Classism, and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy
blewballoon's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's hard to talk about this one without spoiling anything, I tried to avoid even reading the synopsis of these books after I started the first one and I think that's the best way to go into it. I know this isn't the true end of the series, but this book is a good stopping point if you get this far and don't immediately want to continue (which is the case for me). Overall I did enjoy this mystery and the eclectic mix of characters involved. I enjoyed the chapters from the past and then seeing the information there reflected in the present. If you are looking for a YA mystery/thriller with a romance that only kind of gets in the way, I would recommend this. There are some slightly more graphic passages dealing with deaths, especially in the parts of the story that take place in the past, but it's usually from characters describing what they experienced and the reader is just filling in the blanks. I did figure out who was responsible for the present day deaths, but only a little bit before the reveal. I had considered a variety of suspects and I was actually really glad it wasn't some of the people I thought it might be. I think the ending was satisfying, although I wish the guilty party hadn't gone out the way they did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, and Gun violence
m4rtt4's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
You know a story is well created when you can stretch a single murder mystery into 3 books! Things wrapped up nicely in this finale, and even though I guessed the final plot twist quite early on, I wasn't disappointed or bored but rather excited to see my own predictions become true. This one wasn't as thrilling as the second one, The Vanishing Stair (my fave in the trilogy), and so it doesn't deserve that high of a rating because the snowed-in part seemed to drag on for ever and ever and also there were too many scenes where they just read Edward King files with nothing exciting happening but yeah, still a great book which I binge-read quite fast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
tangleroot_eli's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
A satisfying but not overly pat resolution to the mystery! Not a lot of David! MOOSE!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Child death
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
elsebeok's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Confinement
mlhanson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism
bzliz's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
It’s nice to see this mystery come to a close with Stevie and her crew coming out relatively unscathed. The characters are generally secondary to the plot and don’t see a lot of personal growth.
I can’t even begin to sum up the events of the book without giving away major plot points so check the following spoilers if you want to know whodunnit:
<spoilers>”Call me Charles” aka Stevie’s advisor is the culprit behind the deaths and accidents at the school. Alice’s body was found while tunnels were being filled in but as a member of the faculty he couldn’t claim the reward. He used dry ice to make a tunnel deadly and lured Hayes there presumably after Hayes heard him conspiring with his accomplice, leading to the death in the first book. Ellie- after Stevie accused her of being the brains behind Hayes’ show- said some things that make Charles nervous so when she ran, he blocked her into the tunnel where she eventually died, giving us death number two. Dr. Fenton was the accomplice and became Stevie’s advisor at Charles’ hand. When Fenton stopped going along with the plan and gave Stevie a warning that Alice was at the school, Charles turned on the gas burner in her kitchen and she died in the resulting fire- death #3.
He got Fenton’s nephew to come stay at the school since he still needed a partner who wasn’t faculty but thanks to David’s return and desire to destroy his father’s campaign- Stevie and her crew didn’t evacuate like the rest of the students and he couldn’t bring Hunter in on his scheme.
As Stevie grandstands and explains this all to her crew, Charles, and the remaining faculty, Larry is scanning the walls of the second floor looking for where Charles hid Alice’s body. They find it and Charles tries to escape which leads to a steep fall and his own demise.
Ultimately, David is able to crumble his father’s campaign & Stevie has solved the case. She even decides not to come forward with evidence of Alice’s birth parents and adoption when the body’s DNA doesn’t match the Ellinghams.
So many things happen in this that it would be impossible to sum it all up. I do wish some of the discoveries here had made it into the previous books so it didn’t all come crashing together right at the end but I suppose that’s what you get with YA mysteries.
I can’t even begin to sum up the events of the book without giving away major plot points so check the following spoilers if you want to know whodunnit:
<spoilers>”Call me Charles” aka Stevie’s advisor is the culprit behind the deaths and accidents at the school. Alice’s body was found while tunnels were being filled in but as a member of the faculty he couldn’t claim the reward. He used dry ice to make a tunnel deadly and lured Hayes there presumably after Hayes heard him conspiring with his accomplice, leading to the death in the first book. Ellie- after Stevie accused her of being the brains behind Hayes’ show- said some things that make Charles nervous so when she ran, he blocked her into the tunnel where she eventually died, giving us death number two. Dr. Fenton was the accomplice and became Stevie’s advisor at Charles’ hand. When Fenton stopped going along with the plan and gave Stevie a warning that Alice was at the school, Charles turned on the gas burner in her kitchen and she died in the resulting fire- death #3.
He got Fenton’s nephew to come stay at the school since he still needed a partner who wasn’t faculty but thanks to David’s return and desire to destroy his father’s campaign- Stevie and her crew didn’t evacuate like the rest of the students and he couldn’t bring Hunter in on his scheme.
As Stevie grandstands and explains this all to her crew, Charles, and the remaining faculty, Larry is scanning the walls of the second floor looking for where Charles hid Alice’s body. They find it and Charles tries to escape which leads to a steep fall and his own demise.
Ultimately, David is able to crumble his father’s campaign & Stevie has solved the case. She even decides not to come forward with evidence of Alice’s birth parents and adoption when the body’s DNA doesn’t match the Ellinghams.
So many things happen in this that it would be impossible to sum it all up. I do wish some of the discoveries here had made it into the previous books so it didn’t all come crashing together right at the end but I suppose that’s what you get with YA mysteries.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
liesthemoontells's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Abandonment, Murder, and Confinement
Moderate: Gaslighting and Violence
maggiegirouard's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
really good, I actually wasn’t able to predict pretty much anything that happened which normally I can, so that was exciting because I genuinely had no idea what was going to happen next, which made it fast-paced and quick to read. Clever, interesting how all the details connected and worked out. Really good representation of anxiety. Some really good, well-written, original lines. Personally I think this was the best of the 3.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, and Body horror