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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well I had heard of Andrea Mara a lot on Bookstagram, book podcasts and from talking to friends who are into books, but I had, to my shame, never read any books by her until now.
This book starts off with secondary teacher, Susan O’Donnell sending off a scathing and incriminating text to the whole Oakpark what’s app group rather than just to her sisters. Of course the message was about the Oakpark neighbours, and immediately incurs a series of consequences, some of which are fatal. If only she could turn back time! If only she could just delete it from the brains of all the recipients! But what’s done is done, and she just has to ride the stormy waves of her thoughtless action…
Well this was a great hook! Straight away I was in, I was part of the “open-the-popcorn” audience waiting to see the fallout, imagining myself in her shoes, thankful I was not.
The story revolves around Susan, her husband Jon, baby Bella, sister’s Greta and Leesa, Leesa’s daughters, Celeste, to whom the vitriolic text was aimed, her family, and quite a number of other characters, all residents of Oakpark who are all bound up together in a tangled web of infidelities, pretense, complicated histories, and eventually murder.
I was trying to describe the plot to a friend and it struck me just how many characters there are, how complicated the storyline is, how many threads are unfolding at the same time. And yet it is very readable. Andrea Mara expertly weaves the plot around the characters, keeps the separate yet connected strands taut, just slightly out of our reach, finishing in a neat but twisty braid, having tied up all the loose ends.
As I said, I was hooked from the beginning and felt it kept the momentum all the way through. The characters are vividly drawn and believable for the most part. There were some elements of the story that I didn’t love, like the Felipe-Susan storyline, or the link to Greta’s past, but on the whole, it was a really good book, covering such a broad sweep of characters and events and how she managed to hold it all together, and weave it into a gripping story is amazing.
My first Andrea Mara, and it won’t be my last. I was very sorry to miss Andrea’s visit to our bookclub: @rebel.readers.bookclub last week as it looked like a great evening.
This book starts off with secondary teacher, Susan O’Donnell sending off a scathing and incriminating text to the whole Oakpark what’s app group rather than just to her sisters. Of course the message was about the Oakpark neighbours, and immediately incurs a series of consequences, some of which are fatal. If only she could turn back time! If only she could just delete it from the brains of all the recipients! But what’s done is done, and she just has to ride the stormy waves of her thoughtless action…
Well this was a great hook! Straight away I was in, I was part of the “open-the-popcorn” audience waiting to see the fallout, imagining myself in her shoes, thankful I was not.
The story revolves around Susan, her husband Jon, baby Bella, sister’s Greta and Leesa, Leesa’s daughters, Celeste, to whom the vitriolic text was aimed, her family, and quite a number of other characters, all residents of Oakpark who are all bound up together in a tangled web of infidelities, pretense, complicated histories, and eventually murder.
I was trying to describe the plot to a friend and it struck me just how many characters there are, how complicated the storyline is, how many threads are unfolding at the same time. And yet it is very readable. Andrea Mara expertly weaves the plot around the characters, keeps the separate yet connected strands taut, just slightly out of our reach, finishing in a neat but twisty braid, having tied up all the loose ends.
As I said, I was hooked from the beginning and felt it kept the momentum all the way through. The characters are vividly drawn and believable for the most part. There were some elements of the story that I didn’t love, like the Felipe-Susan storyline, or the link to Greta’s past, but on the whole, it was a really good book, covering such a broad sweep of characters and events and how she managed to hold it all together, and weave it into a gripping story is amazing.
My first Andrea Mara, and it won’t be my last. I was very sorry to miss Andrea’s visit to our bookclub: @rebel.readers.bookclub last week as it looked like a great evening.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid thriller that is easy to read and gripping enough. The weaving together of all the characters was strong and I liked how the secrets were uncovered slowly rather than one big bang at the end.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75ish stars. This definitely kept me on the edge of my seat but honestly the characters in this were truly insufferable. The author did a great job of switching POVs and still keeping a consistent flow to the story. I would be interested to know why Susan’s was the only POV told in first person and everyone else was third person
Thank you to NetGalley and Transworld for the advance review copy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Transworld for the advance review copy.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No