Reviews

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

crystalstarrlight's review against another edition

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4.0

Bullet Review:

I'm going to need some time to really think this one through. I was definitely engaged but I need to process the events and figure out how it impacted the characters and/or plot.

keen23's review against another edition

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4.0

A really different and interesting book. Female murderers!

cjjordan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

linskiti's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

felixmarauder's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

justinkhchen's review against another edition

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4.0

4 stars

Might not be the most tightly-woven thriller, but The Passenger still tells a compelling 'woman on the run' story with plenty of excitement and surprise. The first 25% of the novel is immediately gripping, with a series of unusual circumstances stacking on top of one another in quick succession. Then the novel takes a turn tonally for its middle portion, becoming almost a wandering, episodic 'road trip' story, as the protagonist hops from town to town trying to blend in. This is where the plot becomes a bit unfocused; some scenarios are great (pleasantly surprised by the romance subplot), while others feel dragged out and arbitrary, lacking clear relevance to the core story. Even though logistically one can argue these detours makes sense due to the unpredictability of the immediate surrounding, some comes across too outlandish and 'Hollywood-logic' convenient to be fully believable, especially when the novel emphasizes so heavily on the protagonist being an untrained civilian in desperate situations.

Despite some small hiccups, sometimes all you need from a story is keeping you entertained, and The Passenger fully delivers in that way for me, with its commitment to fully play out its premise, and enough emotional punch to makes me care for the participants involved.

khawlah's review against another edition

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4.0

page turner. could not stop reading, i really wanted to see what happened next. 7/10 though because I found that the plot became repetitive.

maria_grace00's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition

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2.0

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz is a suspense novel. Tanya came downstairs after her shower and found her husband, Frank dead. She contemplated about burying the body, but there is no way she can do it herself (very practical). So she gathers up some cash and takes off (do you think she has something to hide). She changes vehicles, changes her hair color, and then gets a new identity. She ends up in Austin, Texas and meets Blue (for her eyes) at May’s Well (a bar). Blue recognizes Tanya (now Amelia) as someone on the run. When two goons try to take off with Tanya/Amelia (starts to get confusing after a while as she keeps changing identities), Blue helps out. After several unsuccessful attempts to get a new identity, Blue has an idea. Both women end up with new identities and a chance to start over. But the past always manages to catch up with you. Eventually, you have to face it (you cannot run forever).

The Passenger is listed as fast paced, but I did not find it very speedy (I have two week old kittens that move faster). To me it was a long drawn out book where I kept waiting for my questions to be answered (and after a while I did not care). The Passenger is Tanya’s story of her running, hiding, and finding new identities. The Passenger is just the telling of a story and teller decided to draw it out. The Passenger gets better towards the end (if you make it that far). I give The Passenger 2 out of 5 stars. The basic concept of the book was good, but I did not like the final product (if you need something to help you sleep, then you have found the right book). The Passenger contains extreme violence and foul language (and large quantities of alcohol).

I received a complimentary copy of The Passenger in exchange for an honest review of the book.

hungryeyes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5