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emmysforeverbooked's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Maybe it was just my own personal ignorance, but I truly don't think I saw anything that happened in this book coming. I felt so utterly engaged with every turn of the page that I truly felt whiplash every time something new would happen.
I struggle a lot with books that don't have romance. I just, I don't know, it's in my nature to just want a happy ending. Which I think is why I struggle with enjoying thriller/mystery books. But this one had a very tiny romance subplot and it was just strong enough to have me not caring that there wasn't a ton of romance in this book.
This review has been all over the place but I end it by saying this: pick up this book. The only negative thing I have to say is that the first 40% or so is very slow-paced. I stuck it out and I am so glad I did because this might now be my favorite read of the year.
Riley Sager, I need you to make this book into a movie. It would truly and completely fix me.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Sexual assault, and Mental illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, Cursing, Death of parent, and Car accident
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Don't let all the content warnings I have listed scare you off. This book to me was no scarier than your average Criminal Minds episode. If you can handle true crime shows, you can handle this book.leahdanielle131's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cancer, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit, War, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
mallory10100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Minor: Body shaming
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
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Spoiler below:
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My main issue here (aside from the fact that we have yet another iteration of boyfriend/love interest is the villain) is that there are only 4 characters in this book, if you leave out Maddy and the cop. So, by the end, there’s realistically only two ways you can swing the plot: boyfriend is the serial killer, or the serial killer is unknown. Once you get to a certain point it becomes clear we aren’t going with an ambiguous ending, and therefore it can’t possibly be a surprise anymore who the killer is because the boyfriend is the ONLY option. So is it even a twist? There’s no other character in the book!!! Maybe the final twist with Robbie did it for some people, but for me I would’ve preferred a not-so-tidy ending. Using the boyfriend as the villain is just sooooooo…. Boring? Unoriginal? Obvious? Some combination of all of that.
That said, what he did here with the OTHER 3 characters was nothing short of masterful.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Cancer, Vomit, and Terminal illness
clevelandbookgirl's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Car accident, Confinement, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicide and Cursing
tays_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Violence, Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Cancer, and Stalking
emilymbrown's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, and Body horror
Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
That concept of the “movies in her mind” kinda gets confusing as to what is real or not. I guess that’s the point, because the protagonist can’t tell what’s real, but it makes it a little bit harder to keep up.
I also didn’t particularly like the brief change in focus/narrator because it was an unreliable narrator, and it was almost deceptive in the way it portrayed the characters in those chapters. It just kinda made me confused. I would’ve just chosen to not make the one or two chapters focused on the other characters.
However, I did like this book. It was one of the better mystery suspense novels I’ve read in the past few months. Not the best by far, but it was fairly good, and interesting. I wouldn’t call this a thriller, but it is definitely a mystery suspense novel.
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Torture, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
Minor: Car accident, Suicide, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
yodareads12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This particular story follows Charlie, a girl who recently lost her best friend to a serial killer still at large. She blames herself because she caught a glimpse of him the night her friend died, but can't remember any of his details.
She ends up taking a ride with a someone to head back home to Ohio. And along the journey finds out there is more to this person than she originally thought.
Really good thriller!! Absolutely amazing storyline! I was constantly getting stumped and surprised! There is cursing, but nothing sexual. Genre falls under Thriller.
Moderate: Cursing
bookishgoob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Mental illness