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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would and loved the fact that I didn’t know what was going to happen next. My only critique is that the characters were not easy to connect with.
Emma in the Night wasn't at all what I expected and I wouldn't quite call it a thriller. When I read a thriller, I expect to be on the edge of my seat, dying to know what happens next. I was interested and the story was suspenseful, but the story was a bit slow and even dry at times. That said, it was oddly compelling and certainly disturbing.
Considering their parents and upbringing, Emma and Cass were almost doomed to be at a little messed up. In a not exactly successfully blended family, the only person that I found to be remotely normal was the oldest brother, Witt.
The story is not only twisted, but there are plenty of twists and turns as it progresses, which is something I look forward to in a psychological tale. I was left scratching my head at times with Cass' recounting of her time away as it seemed to become more and more convoluted. By the end, her motivations were made clear, but even now, as I ponder the story, I'm not exactly clear about the way she went about it all.
The biggest drawback for me was the switch in point of view. Throughout the book, we hear from two people, Cass and Dr. Abigail Winter. Cass' chapters are all in first person, while Abby's are in third. My first thought was that it was done to help show Cass' frame of mind during the seven days following her return home, but Abby's chapters also reveal her own thoughts about Cass and the family during that time. The switches from chapter to chapter took some getting used to and in all honesty, I found it to be more of a distraction than anything beneficial to the story.
Overall, Walker does have a unique writing style and the story had potential, but it just didn't quite live up to expectations. It's not a bad read, but turned out to be merely an okay one for me.
Considering their parents and upbringing, Emma and Cass were almost doomed to be at a little messed up. In a not exactly successfully blended family, the only person that I found to be remotely normal was the oldest brother, Witt.
The story is not only twisted, but there are plenty of twists and turns as it progresses, which is something I look forward to in a psychological tale. I was left scratching my head at times with Cass' recounting of her time away as it seemed to become more and more convoluted. By the end, her motivations were made clear, but even now, as I ponder the story, I'm not exactly clear about the way she went about it all.
The biggest drawback for me was the switch in point of view. Throughout the book, we hear from two people, Cass and Dr. Abigail Winter. Cass' chapters are all in first person, while Abby's are in third. My first thought was that it was done to help show Cass' frame of mind during the seven days following her return home, but Abby's chapters also reveal her own thoughts about Cass and the family during that time. The switches from chapter to chapter took some getting used to and in all honesty, I found it to be more of a distraction than anything beneficial to the story.
Overall, Walker does have a unique writing style and the story had potential, but it just didn't quite live up to expectations. It's not a bad read, but turned out to be merely an okay one for me.
I’ve had this Book of the Month pick on my shelf for a long time, but since I haven’t read a thriller in a while, I decided to finally pick it up. IT WAS SO GOOD and it blew my mind in the best way possible. It was a mixture of so many different things and they all blended together to make such an elaborate and unique plot line. These characters are unpredictable and very very VERY unstable. You just didn’t know who to believe and I JUST LOVED IT!
This book is told through two different perspectives. One perspective is Cass, the younger sister that returns and the other perspective was Dr. Abby Winter, the forensic psychiatrist that was on the case when the girls disappeared. Both perspectives move back and forth through the timeline and it adds such depth to the plot and adds some information to the holes in everyone’s stories.
EVERYONE’S STORIES HAD HOLES and you could trust NO ONE!
Cass’s perspective just made me SO SAD and I wanted to hurt people that made her feel anything other than good. That girl went through so much and it makes me so sad. Her thoughts and the way the author wrote her perspective was just haunting. However, she did not reveal a lot and it really drove you crazy. The way she tells the story, it made it seem like she was lying or holding something back so whenever she revealed something, I didn’t really believe her. It all seemed a little too out there to make sense. Cass was a bad ass though and I ended up really loving her at the very end. It all made sense like solving a very elaborate puzzle that took a long time to solve.
Dr. Abby Winter was a very interesting character as well. At first, I was very wary of her and how she went about solving the case and I honestly didn’t know where her head was at all the time. I felt like she was so unprofessional at points and I felt like I couldn’t trust her either. I don’t know if I’m watching too much Law in Order, but she reminded me of Olivia Benson when she gets a little too close to a victim and makes big and very unprofessional mistakes.
THE TANNER FAMILY WAS SOOOOOO F**CKED UP IN SO MANY WAYS AND IT WAS INSANE. The mom would make Dee Dee Blanchard look normal....... The father was very unpredictable, the stepdad was a creep, the stepbrother was a privileged white boy, and the halfbrother was very suspicious. This family puts the d in dysfunctional and it made me cringe, but I couldn’t wait to find out more.
This thriller was an amazing read and I couldn't put it down until the very last page.
This book is told through two different perspectives. One perspective is Cass, the younger sister that returns and the other perspective was Dr. Abby Winter, the forensic psychiatrist that was on the case when the girls disappeared. Both perspectives move back and forth through the timeline and it adds such depth to the plot and adds some information to the holes in everyone’s stories.
EVERYONE’S STORIES HAD HOLES and you could trust NO ONE!
Cass’s perspective just made me SO SAD and I wanted to hurt people that made her feel anything other than good. That girl went through so much and it makes me so sad. Her thoughts and the way the author wrote her perspective was just haunting. However, she did not reveal a lot and it really drove you crazy. The way she tells the story, it made it seem like she was lying or holding something back so whenever she revealed something, I didn’t really believe her. It all seemed a little too out there to make sense. Cass was a bad ass though and I ended up really loving her at the very end. It all made sense like solving a very elaborate puzzle that took a long time to solve.
Dr. Abby Winter was a very interesting character as well. At first, I was very wary of her and how she went about solving the case and I honestly didn’t know where her head was at all the time. I felt like she was so unprofessional at points and I felt like I couldn’t trust her either. I don’t know if I’m watching too much Law in Order, but she reminded me of Olivia Benson when she gets a little too close to a victim and makes big and very unprofessional mistakes.
THE TANNER FAMILY WAS SOOOOOO F**CKED UP IN SO MANY WAYS AND IT WAS INSANE. The mom would make Dee Dee Blanchard look normal....... The father was very unpredictable, the stepdad was a creep, the stepbrother was a privileged white boy, and the halfbrother was very suspicious. This family puts the d in dysfunctional and it made me cringe, but I couldn’t wait to find out more.
This thriller was an amazing read and I couldn't put it down until the very last page.
standard thriller. i liked the whole messed up family, but her calling her mom "mrs martin" threw me off every time
I just could NOT. The story seems interesting, it just seems like nothing is happening. I read 40% of this book and it bored me to death. The povs are also really confusing
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
On the edge of my seat the entire book. Pulled into the mystery from page one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this is the best domestic thriller I've ever read. There are so many messed up family issues and the twists and turns constantly kept me wondering what was really going on. I had some theories and I was close but not right. Thrillers and mysteries always get extra points for me when I can't guess the ending or the twists.
I thought the psychological elements were done really well. The author explains narcissistic personality in a way that is easy to understand and she provides a lot of examples of typical narcissistic behavior, she doesn't expect us to just take her word for it.
I am deducting a star from what could have been a five star book because Cass's meandering thought processes and Abby's introspection about her own childhood and issues with Leo really added unnecessary fluff that I think, beyond the point of establishing character, only served to slow down the pacing of the overall story.
Four stars. A great domestic thriller for fans of Gone Girl.
I thought the psychological elements were done really well. The author explains narcissistic personality in a way that is easy to understand and she provides a lot of examples of typical narcissistic behavior, she doesn't expect us to just take her word for it.
I am deducting a star from what could have been a five star book because Cass's meandering thought processes and Abby's introspection about her own childhood and issues with Leo really added unnecessary fluff that I think, beyond the point of establishing character, only served to slow down the pacing of the overall story.
Four stars. A great domestic thriller for fans of Gone Girl.
My biggest issue with this book was the storytelling. So much of the narrative is told through conversations. Cass mysteriously shows up on her mother's doorstep three years after going missing, and then the majority of the rest of the book is her interviews with FBI agents. Everything we hear about her trauma is through dialogue. It makes for a very boring story. I don't want to hear people talk about the things that happened, I want to see the events themselves. Even if it's told through flashbacks or memories. Anything is better than dialogue.
I understand why it was chosen for this story, but I think that choice was incredibly detrimental to the book.
Apart from that, it was pretty fine. Just another thriller that to be perfectly honest, I won't be thinking about again. The characters were fine. You can basically guess the ending from the first chapter. But it was still compelling enough that I wanted all the answers. Glad I read it for the answers, but I don't think this is one you'd be missing if you gave it a pass.
I understand why it was chosen for this story, but I think that choice was incredibly detrimental to the book.
Apart from that, it was pretty fine. Just another thriller that to be perfectly honest, I won't be thinking about again. The characters were fine. You can basically guess the ending from the first chapter. But it was still compelling enough that I wanted all the answers. Glad I read it for the answers, but I don't think this is one you'd be missing if you gave it a pass.