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chantinelle23'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: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic
badflowerbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
5.0
This book also works so much better as an audiobook. Since the story is in the format of a true crime documentary about a podcast, having the voices of different actors speak the bits that are meant to be clips of recordings really enhanced the reading experience. I was so impressed by the writing, the performance, and the story as a whole. A very rare 5-star rating from me!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, and Vomit
trishrva's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lottieingham'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Incest, Blood, and Vomit
asolis's review against another edition
4.0
The story itself is gripping and dark. Great for fans of mystery and thriller.
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
moonlightjuju's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Believe it or not Josie reminded me a lot of a person my partner knew first year of uni, whom was completely insane and a compulsive liar and it was just crazy seeing the similarities.
Jojo def shows signs either BPD or just a sociopath, and is a big danger (clearly) to those around her, displaying violent outburst, no remorse, obsession, and no empathy whatsoever.
Starting with Walter and her relationship, the age gap is INSANE and was a MAJOR red flag. In any shape or form Walter was a groomer, however
She is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator and we don’t begin to see the full picture till after her family begins to speak out.
I legit cried when Nathan died, I was hoping he wouldn’t and was holding out hope that the marriage would be fixed, but again Jojo’s obsession got in the way of that. I was honestly surprised that she didn’t try stealing HIM away from his family. But after hearing her daughter explain how Walter had to sneak to speak to his kids in America it was just adding on to the long list of red flags for Jo the Roxy plot twist was to be expected, she seems to be worse then her parents/grandparents. I think a spin off book on her would be interesttinnng
I loved the writing style and I will absolutely be reading more from this author. Great little murder mystery.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
kashby's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ggreen1379's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol
illiteratewench's review against another edition
4.5
The only reason this isn't a 5 star is that I'm sure sure some of the themes hold up under lots of critical thought and analysis. It was for sure a 5 star experience, I stayed up to finish it and didn't want to put it down. It's twisty and turny and you're never sure whether or not Josie and her story should be trusted at face value or not.
The things I don't think hold up with deeper thought are
Josie's husband Walter is 27 years older than her. They have been together since she was 15 and he was 42. He was a contractor doing electrical work on her family estate, as well as dating her mother. He was already cheating on his wife and two sons with Josie's mother, eventually leaving them for Josie.
Josie twists many things about Walter but these are facts that, to me, are irredeemable. The fact that Jewell tries to pull a "but he's actually a really good guy!" on us with a man who cheated on his wife, then cheated on both his wife and mistress with the mistress's underage daughter who he marries and has another 2 kids with, is insane. Especially when the mistress, Pat, claims that Josie (again, her 15 year old daughter) was a sociopath who seduced Walter to steal him from her. I'm sorry but a grown man cannot be seduced by a child unless he is a p*do. End of story.
So yeah, that leaves me really conflicted with how to rate this. But again, the experience was just so fun and juicy at the time. My rating might be inflated because I don't really read thriller, so maybe one day I'll look back critically and bump this down, but at the moment I still really enjoyed the book and the experience, but I would hesitate to recommend it for this reason.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying and Vomit
evreardon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Overall, it was twisty and weird. I loved the concept of the plot but wasn’t 100% thrilled with the execution.
I would have loved to seen more with Josie’s family. Some truth.
I think what I don’t like about this book is the unreliable characters & how you don’t actually know what’s completely true.
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Excrement, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic