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brazilianbookworm's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
🛑 ‼️🚨I do want to say that this book should have had trigger warnings for sexual abuse of children, self harm, thoughts and actions of suicide, and a pretty graphic scene of death. 🛑 ‼️🚨
Okay, so I read this book in one day mostly because I’m doing a book challenge. While I did like this book, it was a bit hard to get through….
The plot was quite slow and it switched characters so many times sometimes it was a bit overwhelming. However it is still a good read, the author writes very well and her plot was a good one, I just wish she would have fleshed a few things out more especiallythe villain of the story Tim. Like yes it’s cool that it hits you out of nowhere but at the same time I kinda would have liked more story on him
Okay, so I read this book in one day mostly because I’m doing a book challenge. While I did like this book, it was a bit hard to get through….
The plot was quite slow and it switched characters so many times sometimes it was a bit overwhelming. However it is still a good read, the author writes very well and her plot was a good one, I just wish she would have fleshed a few things out more especially
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Self harm, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Miscarriage, and Vomit
chyna's review against another edition
3.0
The build up was really good and had me hooked most of the time! The only thing that was a little off for me was the ending. It wasn't bad but it just didn't give me the "OH MY GOD" feeling (if you know what I mean). Overall though if I could rate this from a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this book an 8
hayleighreid's review against another edition
3.5
Enjoyed the premise and the twists and turns, however it started to get a little too implausible. Still enjoyed but I wish the ending was executed better.
enchantedvvillow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
heathere19's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This book was decent for a murder mystery. There is a ton of build up but also lots of cliff hangers that kept me reading. I liked the different perspectives but wish the final suspected character had more development in order for better understanding of their actions. A thrilling read otherwise.
This book was decent for a murder mystery. There is a ton of build up but also lots of cliff hangers that kept me reading. I liked the different perspectives but wish the final suspected character had more development in order for better understanding of their actions. A thrilling read otherwise.
litwithleigh's review against another edition
3.0
TRIGGER WARNING: SA
THE PLOT
Ella is on the train eavesdropping as we all do—except the tea she heard was exceptionally disturbing. Two fresh out of prison ex-convicts hitting on two teenage girls. Ella tries to forget what she heard, but that soon proves impossible when one of the girls, Anna, goes missing, and the two ex-cons are suspects. Already hated on by the media for being a bystander, Ella starts receiving mysterious hate mail. Why is this person so mad? And what really happened to Anna?
MY OPINION
*sucks teeth* This really had a lot of potential but the ending was disappointing. The writing was good; I'm noticing now I tend to like authors who are former journalists. They know how to write concisely and each has a unique voice. Some of my fave excerpts (rule of threes strikes again):
Henry glances at his watch. An hour to go. He ought to get back. Have a shower. Have another row with Barbara. Try one final time to calm things down before he faces the music proper.
Tim’s dad showed no interest in him all his life, then suddenly got cancer. Got God. Got in touch.
Simple. Rhythmic. Showing not telling. You can feel the disdain of Henry. You can feel the apathy toward Tim's dad for being a cliche absentee father who pops up at the end in hopes of narcissistic redemption.
Anyways. My famous gripes...
While I enjoyed the writing quality, there was room for improvement on the voice of each character. See, the following line had me convinced Ella was of the unreliable narrator variety and in fact didn't even have a husband or child and had something to do with Anna's disappearance:
I wanted to phone not because I was worried for the girls, but as a punishment, because I was angry at how Sarah had made me feel.
For context, she overhead Sarah having sex with one of the ex-cons on the train (this is revealed in the first chapter so chill). The "I was angry at how Sarah had made me feel" implies this chick has serious problems that would cause her to wild out and potentially kidnap another teenage girl. Why would you be angry at a stranger for having sex in the bathroom? Why do you take it personally like Sarah intentionally bussed it open just to annoy you? Anyways, I spent the entire book waiting for Ella to show her crazy side all because of that one line......... But nope. Just turns out she's a small-minded lady with "traditional values."
You might read that and think, well maybe Driscoll is trying to trip you up? I considered that, but other than that one line, there wasn't any clues Ella was actually a nutjob. It's just that line really stuck to me like white on rice, so I was sure it was foreshadowing creepy behaviour to come. I think it was just an innocent line that I read into a little too much because I've read too many thrillers in my lifetime and I'm always on high alert for red herrings.
I did like the alternating POVs but in the end they were unnecessary. I guess the author was going for character study, but none of the other characters really contributed to the plot. It was just a lot of catch up between POVs to build suspense. It was clear Henry was just a manwhore, not a murderer. It felt like Sarah was assigned some rando trauma so you wouldn't be annoyed she ditched her friend for an ex-con. I kinda liked "the watcher"—spooky vibes. And I guess the PI POV was "necessary" because the mystery had to be solved by a credible character and not one of the regular degular townspeople.
Also, I think this is more of a YA book.... All the main players in this debacle were teens. The adults were just kinda there to provide feels. But it all comes down to the teens. So yeah. I think if I had known that, I would've skipped it.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: Creative writing, mystery keeps you guessing
Cons: Unnecessary POVs, more like a YA book
THE PLOT
Ella is on the train eavesdropping as we all do—except the tea she heard was exceptionally disturbing. Two fresh out of prison ex-convicts hitting on two teenage girls. Ella tries to forget what she heard, but that soon proves impossible when one of the girls, Anna, goes missing, and the two ex-cons are suspects. Already hated on by the media for being a bystander, Ella starts receiving mysterious hate mail. Why is this person so mad? And what really happened to Anna?
MY OPINION
*sucks teeth* This really had a lot of potential but the ending was disappointing. The writing was good; I'm noticing now I tend to like authors who are former journalists. They know how to write concisely and each has a unique voice. Some of my fave excerpts (rule of threes strikes again):
Henry glances at his watch. An hour to go. He ought to get back. Have a shower. Have another row with Barbara. Try one final time to calm things down before he faces the music proper.
Tim’s dad showed no interest in him all his life, then suddenly got cancer. Got God. Got in touch.
Simple. Rhythmic. Showing not telling. You can feel the disdain of Henry. You can feel the apathy toward Tim's dad for being a cliche absentee father who pops up at the end in hopes of narcissistic redemption.
Anyways. My famous gripes...
While I enjoyed the writing quality, there was room for improvement on the voice of each character. See, the following line had me convinced Ella was of the unreliable narrator variety and in fact didn't even have a husband or child and had something to do with Anna's disappearance:
I wanted to phone not because I was worried for the girls, but as a punishment, because I was angry at how Sarah had made me feel.
For context, she overhead Sarah having sex with one of the ex-cons on the train (this is revealed in the first chapter so chill). The "I was angry at how Sarah had made me feel" implies this chick has serious problems that would cause her to wild out and potentially kidnap another teenage girl. Why would you be angry at a stranger for having sex in the bathroom? Why do you take it personally like Sarah intentionally bussed it open just to annoy you? Anyways, I spent the entire book waiting for Ella to show her crazy side all because of that one line......... But nope. Just turns out she's a small-minded lady with "traditional values."
You might read that and think, well maybe Driscoll is trying to trip you up? I considered that, but other than that one line, there wasn't any clues Ella was actually a nutjob. It's just that line really stuck to me like white on rice, so I was sure it was foreshadowing creepy behaviour to come. I think it was just an innocent line that I read into a little too much because I've read too many thrillers in my lifetime and I'm always on high alert for red herrings.
I did like the alternating POVs but in the end they were unnecessary. I guess the author was going for character study, but none of the other characters really contributed to the plot. It was just a lot of catch up between POVs to build suspense. It was clear Henry was just a manwhore, not a murderer. It felt like Sarah was assigned some rando trauma so you wouldn't be annoyed she ditched her friend for an ex-con. I kinda liked "the watcher"—spooky vibes. And I guess the PI POV was "necessary" because the mystery had to be solved by a credible character and not one of the regular degular townspeople.
Also, I think this is more of a YA book.... All the main players in this debacle were teens. The adults were just kinda there to provide feels. But it all comes down to the teens. So yeah. I think if I had known that, I would've skipped it.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: Creative writing, mystery keeps you guessing
Cons: Unnecessary POVs, more like a YA book
smichael1994's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
salyarmor's review against another edition
3.0
Had twists and turns that kept you guessing. I couldn’t figure out who did it. Once it was revealed I was shocked.
It was suspenseful but there were a lot of irrelevant excerpts that had nothing to do with the plot which made certain chapters drag on for no reason. It made it difficult to stay interested at times. I was into it in the beginning but once it started to drag on I was kind of bored. Had to force myself to keep reading at times.
The last few chapters reeled me back in but also felt a little rushed and far fetched.
Overall, enjoyable but not memorable.
It was suspenseful but there were a lot of irrelevant excerpts that had nothing to do with the plot which made certain chapters drag on for no reason. It made it difficult to stay interested at times. I was into it in the beginning but once it started to drag on I was kind of bored. Had to force myself to keep reading at times.
The last few chapters reeled me back in but also felt a little rushed and far fetched.
Overall, enjoyable but not memorable.
emrodav's review
4.0
4.5 ⭐️
A really good mystery with tons of twists and turns.
(I should mention that there are mentions of and one non-graphic scene of a memory of childhood sexual assault. If that’s a trigger for you, it might be best to skip this book.)
A really good mystery with tons of twists and turns.
(I should mention that there are mentions of and one non-graphic scene of a memory of childhood sexual assault. If that’s a trigger for you, it might be best to skip this book.)