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bumblero's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Gaslighting
acosyreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Stalking
schausjk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Death of parent
asleepyreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Violence
badmom's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Switching back & forth from the increasingly outspoken letter-writer and the presumed novel chapters was sometimes a bit jarring, and a few details felt too-quickly thrown into place by the end.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
ireadinbed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I think the story within a story and how symbiotic they were really gives it an extra edge.
Unfortunately the letter story kind of ended up not feeling resolved and obviously that bled into the main story at the end. Just knicked the ending off enough to leave me feeling disappointed. But still a really good read.
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Racism
vmontori's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
In regards to Freddie’s side of things, I didn’t find any of the characters really likable, which made it hard to become invested in any of them. I hate when a group meets and is established as close, with the excuse that was just meant to be. Freddie herself was kind of boring and her romance was empty and shadowed her common sense. Cain’s personality was so blank in spite of his crazy past. Marigold was a stalker and never really got criticized for it. Whit, while being so integral to the plot, was also absent for a majority of the book.
Overall, the best part of the book was how fast it was to read.
Moderate: Violence and Stalking
Minor: Addiction and Sexual assault
trippyotter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story begins in the reading room of the Boston Public Library, where our strangers hear a scream, a scream that will terrify and unite them in their curiosity to unravel the mystery. A mystery that has no simple answer and will test their newly developed friendship.
As the secrets unravel and their bonds are tested, ties will strengthen between the couples that will begin to divide their loyalties to each other.
Over the course of several weeks, as details are discovered, you'll begin to question the agenda of several of the strangers. Was the chance encounter between them, on that fateful day, just happenstance or was it orchestrated?
As the mystery starts to unravel, will their friendship survive the truth of what happened?
Will they survive the truth?
I'd also like to mention that besides loving the story, the foodie in me couldn't get enough of the food tour of Boston, real or fake!
But, I think my only complaint, if any, would be how little time is actually spent in the library. After the murder, there's very little time spent in the library, majority of the time will be spent in Freddy's apartment, local eateries, or walking about the city. It all meshes wonderfully with the story, but I do wish more time was spent in the library.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
bk2nocal'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
4.25
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Violence
flyoverzoner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I found this book to be really off-putting at times. I didn't like the story within the story, I don't think it was executed well, nor did it add much to the book.
The portion of the book dedicated to Hannah was my least favorite part. Having her be explained simple concepts by Leo, and then /that/ whole plot doing a 180, seemed completely unnecessary. Maybe Leo's annoying mansplaining was supposed to be telling of his lack of expertise, but it was a struggle to get through.
In the part of the story involving Freddie, I didn't particularly bond with any of the characters, nor was I invested in their relationships, because they kept making incredibly stupid decisions. Freddie and Cain were not interesting enough to take up so much time in this story, but I guess they were needed to continue the plot.
The murder mystery itself kept me interested enough to listen until the end, since I was invested in the whodunit and their reasoning.
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Violence