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Annie is a breath of fresh air from most MC in a mystery book. She has her flaws, gets scared and aware of the risks.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma
When Frances' will is read, her potential heirs are shocked to be given a final task - solve her murder before the police or the estate will be sold to property developers. For her great niece Annie Adams, it's the chance to prove her skills as a novice mystery writer. But what other mysteries will she unearth, and who can she trust?
Review: Effortlessly jumping between the past and the current, this double mystery had all the bones for a good detective hunt but was let down by weak characters and cliches.
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism
I did not see the twists coming! and I usually have trouble with switching between timelines, but that wasn't the case here. I wanted to read Frances's diary/notebook straight through!
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Classism
The biggest issue for me was that I didn't connect with the characters: Annie was annoying, with zero self-awareness; and so many of the men were creepy and controlling, yet beloved(!) by Annie, Frances, and others. It was a bizarre vibe in a book written by a woman. There were also almost 30 named characters, which was Too. Goddamn. Many. By the time the murderer was revealed, I couldn't even remember who they were. The Frances/Emily plotline was super predictable IMO, but others may feel differently.
Lastly, there were, and I can't believe I'm saying this, anachronisms from the 1960s. Like, come on.
If you decide to read this book, definitely go for a physical copy rather than the audiobook: the narrators weren't the greatest, and there are some character relationships that are easy to miss while listening.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism