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stephanieluxton'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? No
4.5
At times, this story feels like three books in one as each storyline slowly unfolds and we try to make predictions and decipher how they're connected. The characters are interesting and it's fun trying to predict their motivations.
The setting adds a lot of atmosphere to the story, especially in the present day/winter scenes. The cold, dark, white out conditions add so much claustrophobia. There were a few scenes in which I was genuinely terrified for our main characters.
My favorite thing about this book was seeing how the different characters reacted to the situations they found themselves in. It felt believable.
One of my least favourite things was the end reveal - the reveal itself was fine, but I think it would have been more impactful if the motivations of the antagonist were a little more defined.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow burn crime/thrillers and dark "whodunnits".
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Car accident, Sexism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury
chooper454's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer
horizonous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Car accident
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Suicide, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
phantasmaboo's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I have some mixed feelings about this book. The characters are well-developed and the plot maintains a good pace. I did think that a lot of the time jumping between chapters was unnecessary after a certain point, because it was fairly easy to see where the plot was going before it actually got there. After that point, it felt like the author was simply trying to elongate the plot and throw in some red herrings, and it got a bit tiresome. I would have preferred to have spent more time with the people in the present than in the past, building their characters through who they are now.
I also think the plot lost a lot of steam toward the end. The final chapters reminded me of a college student who has to hit a word count and just keeps on writing. The inhuman strength of one character in particular is really hard to believe. I would have preferred tension be built through the addition of stronger and more profound plot lines than start and stop action sequences.
Finally, this book relies highly on female/femme/uterus havers traumas to drive the plot forward. There is also implications of pedophilia.
That being said, this book was not “bad”. It definitely was thrilling, although somewhat predictable. I recommend it, but suggest checking the trigger warnings before you start.
Graphic: Torture, Vomit, Violence, Miscarriage, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape
haleybre's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, and Sexual assault
babyjay'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It should be. The characters are complex and realistic even in extraordinary situations. However, the snippets told from law enforcement perspective are just a little too hero worship-y for me. The stereotypical badass female from headquarters with an eagle eye and a soft touch for witnesses, the rogue cop with his own rules who will stop at nothing to chase a lead, the good hearted sherif that just really *knows* these people.
Not only is it boring but dangerous! Telling stories where cops who terrorize to get information are doing the “wrong thing for the right reasons” glamorizes the abusive system that kills and brutalizes just because they can. The author also leans heavily on the self destructive alcoholic war veteran who creeps everyone out. The man has severe PTSD that goes untreated along with a difficult and painful life. Writing him into a story in such an unforgiving way and continuing to abuse his character throughout the book is gross. Vets have enough trouble as it is, no need to perpetuate the stereotypes of them being violent, dangerous, and unstable.
The chapters in this book that include the aforementioned BS are short and infrequent, get swollowed up by the actual action of the story, and generally have very little to do with the plot. If you can ignore the filler it’s worth a read.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Car accident, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Rape, Terminal illness, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse
annelihghh's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Child death, Abandonment, Vomit, Miscarriage, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Misogyny, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Cursing, Alcohol, Gore, and Sexual assault
wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, and Alcohol
fi_reads_books's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Vomit, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Alcohol
whatathymeitwas'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? It's complicated
4.0
I'm my opinion, this is very will written. I don't run into that many books that make me feel like I'm a string being slowly wound up at an ever-increasing speed and intensity, but this one did. I literally felt my heart rate go up during certain scenes. For an author to actually physically affect me, I'm impressed.
I won't get into the plot or anything that might be a spoiler, but this story was just aces. I had no idea who the fingers were going to eventually end up pointed at, and most of my guesses ended up being wrong. It took me til the last quarter to even figure out all the other perspectives and how they tied together. Provided, I'm not always exceptionally good at figuring out the mystery, but this one especially had me mind boggled.
This would be a great pick for anyone who enjoys extremely suspenseful suspense novels, and it would probably work exceptionally well as a winter read— in the dark, when it's snowing and chilled outside.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Cancer