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beate251's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What follows is a roller-coaster thriller in which we get introduced to quite a few seemingly unrelated people who find together in the end, but not before the plot has twisted like a pretzel several times. Nothing is as it seems and no one is as innocent as they first look in this fast-paced, far-fetched and very entertaining page-turner. Read it in one sitting.
One of the review excerpts from the blurb says: "This book will keep you up until 2 a.m." After I'd finished reading and written this review, I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2am! Can someone de-bug my house please?
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
hannahsbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
A thriller with a crime edge even though the protagonist is not a detective, Beck has to try to figure out what happened 8 years ago to work out what is happening now so needs to think like a detective. Is his beloved wife, his childhood sweetheart, still alive?, and if so why was her death faked all those years ago?
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Torture
cinzia_2509's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
ripxw's review against another edition
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Violence and Homophobia
astoriareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
- David Beck married his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth. While at the lake together, Elizabeth was attacked and murdered. It’s been 8 years, and David still hasn’t gotten over it or felt closure.
- Suddenly, David starts receiving cryptic messages that are things only Elizabeth would know. What is going on? What happened on the lake? Is Elizabeth dead?
- I read this one in about 24 hours. A definite page-turner. Lots of suspense. Fast-paced. Hard to put down.
- I enjoyed Coban’s writing style, and I found it easy to read.
- Satisfying ending. Coban ties everything up well, and it’s a very well plotted book.
- Most characters are developed well.
- Here’s my only gripe: albeit the book was published in 2001 (aka 23 years ago), I thought the Black & Asian characters were written without any depth & in a negative way. I am curious if Coban would write these characters in the same way if he wrote this book in 2024.
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, and Gun violence
okayucookie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
Graphic: Torture, Body horror, Blood, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Classism, Physical abuse, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Gun violence
w0nderland4's review against another edition
Graphic: Violence and Death
mariacorfias4'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
bethanyearle'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
malorieconway's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence