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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Satu Permainan by Karen M. McManus

89 reviews

conspystery's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

The question I often find myself asking with sequels to mystery novels is, simply enough, why? Do we need to explore the lives of the characters from the first novel in the wake of whatever tragedy has befallen them, to examine that trauma? Are we seeing how a community heals and learning something new? Are we tying up loose ends, following threads intentionally left unresolved in the first book? One of Us is Next feels mostly like it is doing none of those things-- it might be trying, but in my opinion it is largely unsuccessful. I felt it was tacked on quite awkwardly to the first book, and didn’t do much to meaningfully develop on the existing narrative and characters.

Don’t get me wrong here: I liked getting to see the new cast. In particular, I really liked Phoebe, and I also enjoyed seeing more of Maeve-- I think from a writing standpoint, she’s the strongest character here. But once again, I have to ask why. Why these people, why this story? The connections to the first book feel contrived, almost silly. Set dressing. Why does the plot have to revolve around a copycat of Simon? It just seems to me this could’ve easily been its own story, unrelated to One of Us is Lying, with minimal changes. Ergo I feel like this book’s existence as a sequel is largely due to the fact that the previous book was pretty successful, and not because the story needed a follow up. 

I understand that, though. I think that One of Us is Next does pretty well with what it’s given. Many of my problems with the last book revolved around weird tone shifts, and this book isn’t quite as bad in that regard-- it commits to its seriousness moreso than the last, as we can see in how Maeve’s leukemia storyline reflects the darker death threat plotline throughout the novel. I personally hated the romance subplot with Phoebe and Knox, but I thought Maeve’s was okay, and I liked the glimpses of Nate and Bronwyn we get to see. Their on-again-off-again thing feels realistic for their characters. Plus, I liked Nate’s limited interactions with Maeve a lot. Honestly, Nate was probably more of a favorite for me than Knox, one of the actual protagonists. Not a good sign. Of the Bayview Four, though, Addy and Cooper feel pretty detached, so once again: why these people, other than just for marketing purposes? I appreciate getting to see everybody again, but I just think this would’ve been a more interesting story on its own!

I also maintain my issues with predictability and questionable realism here, though I realize that probably wasn’t the goal-- like, not one student mentioned this to any authority at any point? How did phones NOT get banned from the school? And as surprising as I found the final plot twist to be, come on. Owen? Really? That is an entire child. I don’t know how much I believe it (even though I know this is fiction and that’s not the point.) I like its implications for the characters, though. Creates some interesting depth. Other than that, the rest of the plot was FAR more predictable than that of the first book, and, like most of the novel, feels contrived in its connection to the previous book. 

Overall, this book was okay. I liked some of the characters, and some of the plot was interesting. But this was definitely not a standout to me, and I don’t think it’s an improvement on the first book. I generally don’t like sequels to mystery novels. I feel like they end up like this one more often than not: unnecessary and desperate to surprise while maintaining familiarity with the first book, which is a combination that leads to outlandish mystery/thriller aspects and contrived plot beats at once. I had the same issue with Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson. It might just be a staple of the genre. But I’m still a little disappointed. 

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matidareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? N/A

3.25


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leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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abi4cardan_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

This book was soooooo good, this book has such good foreshadowing which is so easily over-looked. The ending has me stunned and I can’t even begin to process what just happened! 

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taque's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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loverainbowsara's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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

5.0


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georgiagirl1315's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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libraryghost's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.5


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tbs250's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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grace_frank's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5


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