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2.83 AVERAGE
2.83 AVERAGE
I am not a fan. This book left me feeling very unsatisfied. A story about a woman who finds herself stalked by her one-night stand definitely sounds like an interesting premise but, unfortunately for us, that's not really what this book is about. The synposis is very misleading and the book you get instead is a fractured mess of a thriller that's trying to be mysterious but falls short in all aspects.
Yes, there are times when it's subtly unsettling in that delicious psychological way, but those moments are overshadowed by the fact that half of the characters behave like aliens. There seems to be no reason for half of the things they do, they keep changing the subject in the middle of arguments/conversations, and their reactions to the things happening around them are just baffling.
And the plot is just as confusing as the characters. There is a twist (or I assume it was supposed to be a twist) but it was poorly executed and far too predictable to actually make me feel invested. There are also several jumps back and forth in time and between points of view, which only makes it feel more fractured and grating. None of this is helped by the characters who are all just so weird and off-putting. I can't relate to them at all.
In short, I was so relieved when I was done with this book and I honestly wish I hadn't decided to read it.
Yes, there are times when it's subtly unsettling in that delicious psychological way, but those moments are overshadowed by the fact that half of the characters behave like aliens. There seems to be no reason for half of the things they do, they keep changing the subject in the middle of arguments/conversations, and their reactions to the things happening around them are just baffling.
And the plot is just as confusing as the characters. There is a twist (or I assume it was supposed to be a twist) but it was poorly executed and far too predictable to actually make me feel invested. There are also several jumps back and forth in time and between points of view, which only makes it feel more fractured and grating. None of this is helped by the characters who are all just so weird and off-putting. I can't relate to them at all.
In short, I was so relieved when I was done with this book and I honestly wish I hadn't decided to read it.
Wouldn't read it again. It was ok. Bit confusing at the beginning. Jumps between three different perspectives and between first and third narrative, which became a bit hard hard to keep up with. Also the book isn't quite how the synopsis makes it out to be and you learn this quite early on, which disappointed me as I was looking forward to a good straightforward stalker book. Not a keeper in my opinion!
A passable thriller - Nina Todd has a one night stand on a work retreat, and rushes home early to her partner, full of remorse. Then the man she slept with begins stalking her, and the secrets in her past threaten to become exposed.
The narrative is split into Nina's narrative, and the man stalking her. They're both very disturbed characters, and it's difficult to connect to them - I found them both terribly off putting. Nina's motivations for some of the things she does are impossible to fathom - I'm not sure if this was done deliberately to further the "disturbed" thing, but I don't think it works. There needs to be some reasoning behind actions, even if that reasoning is completely loopy.
The narrative is split into Nina's narrative, and the man stalking her. They're both very disturbed characters, and it's difficult to connect to them - I found them both terribly off putting. Nina's motivations for some of the things she does are impossible to fathom - I'm not sure if this was done deliberately to further the "disturbed" thing, but I don't think it works. There needs to be some reasoning behind actions, even if that reasoning is completely loopy.
For such a short book, this was really a struggle for me to get through. I was hopeful for something interesting and suspenseful, but it really didn't live up to my expectations. This book was strange, confusing, and not particularly gripping. The only real twist in it was revealed way too early, leaving little to nothing of interest for the remainder of the book. I didn't connect to Nina and often found her decisions baffling. I got the feeling she wasn't exactly supposed to be a likable protagonist, which is fine, but I just couldn't follow her thought process through most of the book. It was often bizarre and seemed to contradict.
The flashbacks didn't add a whole lot to the plot, and I was expecting a bigger twist at the end. All in all, this was just a miss for me.
The flashbacks didn't add a whole lot to the plot, and I was expecting a bigger twist at the end. All in all, this was just a miss for me.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read it in three days, a good read but not exceptional.
4.5 stars. This is the third book by Lesley Glaister I've read. While I absolutely loved this book, I did not enjoy it as much as what I had read from her previously. But then that's not saying much as her other books are my very favorites. I don't know why I didn't take to this one as much. Probably because I felt very emotionally involved in her other books, whereas with Nina Todd I felt more like a third party watching things happen.
But this is an extremely good book. Lesley Glaister's writing style never ceases to amaze me. She somehow manages to write down the little things we experience every day, but can't put into words. It makes all her stories feel so real. I honestly believe that she has mastered her craft.
This also doesn't disappoint as a solid psychological thriller. It was a real page turner and was chilling in tone from start to finish. There is a bluntness to her writing that is honestly invasive. She is not afraid to unflinchingly acknowledge the darkness that dwells in all of us. But then she makes us feel sympathy and understanding for characters who have committed the most heinous crimes. So there's hope in that isn't there?
I really loved this and can't wait to read more of Glaister's writing. I'm thinking maybe [b:Partial Eclipse|2702651|Partial Eclipse|Lesley Glaister|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2728015] or [b:Little Egypt|20611840|Little Egypt|Lesley Glaister|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390314596s/20611840.jpg|39890503] next. Whatever I choose, I'm pretty excited. :)
But this is an extremely good book. Lesley Glaister's writing style never ceases to amaze me. She somehow manages to write down the little things we experience every day, but can't put into words. It makes all her stories feel so real. I honestly believe that she has mastered her craft.
This also doesn't disappoint as a solid psychological thriller. It was a real page turner and was chilling in tone from start to finish. There is a bluntness to her writing that is honestly invasive. She is not afraid to unflinchingly acknowledge the darkness that dwells in all of us. But then she makes us feel sympathy and understanding for characters who have committed the most heinous crimes. So there's hope in that isn't there?
I really loved this and can't wait to read more of Glaister's writing. I'm thinking maybe [b:Partial Eclipse|2702651|Partial Eclipse|Lesley Glaister|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2728015] or [b:Little Egypt|20611840|Little Egypt|Lesley Glaister|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390314596s/20611840.jpg|39890503] next. Whatever I choose, I'm pretty excited. :)