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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Super quick read. Haven't been back to this author in awhile but she did a great job picking up with one of her characters from a previous storyline and creating a new world for them. I think I'm going to enjoy the Cincinnati stories, suspense and romance all tied into one.
Karen Rose is an auto-buy author for me, and this book is one of my personal favourites. I’ve been reading it regularly for the last ten years, and it still grips me every time.
I don’t know what Karen Rose puts in these books, but she’s very good at writing plot twists. I can almost never pick exactly who the bad guy is until it’s revealed.
I don’t know what Karen Rose puts in these books, but she’s very good at writing plot twists. I can almost never pick exactly who the bad guy is until it’s revealed.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Very detailed torture, abduction, rape. Family secrets. Suicide and shame. Cancer and disability. Stalking. Shitty cops.
Quick burn. Unique genetics.
Quick burn. Unique genetics.
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bought this on a whim and could not put it down! The plot, twists and surprises very very good but the ending didn't keep same tension. Nevertheless recommend you read this if unsure!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed it and how long it was. I was mostly listening while doing other tasks, so the repetitive nature of it was helpful for me.
Really well written and very addictive, I didn't want to put it down and took every opportunity I could to read a page or 2! The only reason it got a 4 star rating and not a 5 star was the continual use of the the word "sonofabitch" throughout the book and the continuous description of everyone's "lips curling", both were used so frequently it started to irritate me but that's just a personal gripe! Other than that I have no criticisms and look forward to the next book in the series.
This was a 3.5 star read for me. As usual I really enjoyed the characters in the book and it was nice as always to check in on people we "met" in other books but this book was just too long. It was not enough to say something 1 or 2 times. Things were repeated over and over and over again. I think this one would have been a much better read had it been 100 pages shorter.
After fighting him tooth and nail, she’d finally begun to scream. She had the most remarkable threshold for pain. He’d be able to play with her for a long, long time.
Karen Rose brings us Closer Than You Think, a creepy, disturbing thriller that will have readers painstakingly piecing together the many layers of this well-crafted plot.
I picked this up because I liked the sound of the blurb - a crazy stalker, a big old house with bad memories, girls going missing - and who doesn't love a good mystery every now and then? For me, Closer Than You Think was a good read, but not a great read. It had an incredibly strong start - Lots of action. Lots of stuff happening. Lots of clues. I loved the fact that right away we were in the villain's mind; witnessing every sick, twisted thing he did. And that we saw the main character, Faith, from his perspective throughout. There were definitely more than enough breadcrumbs to follow for the mystery lovers out there who really like to guess whodunnit before they're told. And I can't deny Rose is a talented lady when it comes to her plotting - this story had layers like Donkey's onion.
What I wasn't as keen on was the portion of this book from about 40% to 80% because, compared the the beginning, it felt like we'd slowed to a crawl and I don't really understand why this book needed to be 544 pages.
Rose was basically:
I know you have to keep us in suspense for a bit, but it lost its rhythm, in my opinion.
To pad out the middle section, there's the romance which was just kind of "eh" for me. I didn't hate it, but at the same time it wasn't getting me any closer to the answers I wanted. Both Faith and Deacon were okay characters. The author tried to liven up Faith with the comic books and gaming, but as with a lot of these books, the tension of the situation is what determines the characters overall behaviour and they're just too damn busy running for their lives to be anything other than deadly serious.
One brilliant exception to this that comes to mind is Rachel from the Brown and de Luca series. She manages to have phenomenal page presence even while targeted by psychopaths. (Love her!).
So those would be my two major flaws - the unnecessary lengthiness and the slightly flat romance. But the mystery was very strong so, ultimately, I landed on a rather wishy washy 3 stars.
Having just sneaky peeked at the next book and seen that it is EVEN LONGER than this one at 721 pages, I'm guessing this is just the way this author rolls, and if it works for you then, like I said, she is a talented mystery writer, no doubt.
3 Stars ★★★ A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.