Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Bad Summer People: A Novel

I was looking for an audiobook through the Libby app and came across this one. Though it's called a thriller when you Google it, it's actually domestic fiction. The drama and lives of the privileged and rich is entertaining to read about. It felt like I was watching a reality TV show. Although I've never watched Real Housewives, this book is what I imagine that franchise to be. So, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys those types of shows and is looking for a summer book along those lines. There are tons of unlikeable characters. The unaliving is mentioned at the beginning, but it doesn't happen until the last few chapters of the book.

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lolmacdaddy's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was not how I thought it would go- I wish that it gave more to the thriller description than it did. It would be a good beach read. The building of the characters was good but left the storyline lacking in some areas.

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read_with_bi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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? No

3.0

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vannahcabana's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

A little bit of a drag in the middle whereas the ending where the reader learns what really happened is just a blip. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective which is switches things up for the reader. Overall a good summer read!

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abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not every book can be one of the best books that you read, and this one was good, but probably not one I will re-read often.
The biggest thing that I enjoyed about this novel was the fact that the mystery relates to who died rather than who killed the person. I think the author, Emma Rosenblum, does a great job playing with this unique angle. There are many moments where characters are at the scene of the death and readers are forced to wonder if this is when it happens. It kept me hooked right up to the point where someone actually died.
One of my biggest critiques is that after the death, the book is extraordinarily slow. Readers also think they know what happened, so until I got to the epilogue, I felt like I was reading end of book fluff for about thirty pages. Until that point, the pacing of the book had been fairly average which felt nice. I wish it had kept that momentum through the ending.
My other large issue was that it was very difficult to keep track of all the characters. So many characters have chapters told from their perspective. One character was so irrelevant to the plot that I forgot that she existed until she was briefly mentioned again in one of the last three chapters. Yet, she has a chapter from her point of view. I almost wish the author had chosen 4-6 characters to use repeatedly instead. It feels like that would have been the right amount for the novel.
Overall, I think the book was good. Readers would especially like it if they want to feel visceral hatred for rich, white people with too much time and money for a little less than 300 pages.

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olpapi's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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martieliz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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kjcrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Note: you must read the epilogue and prologue in order to complete the story (then why not just make them part of the story?)

This story can best be summed up as: “Rich horrible people do horrible things to each other with next to no resolution on the plot.” Very fun to read (crazy to think that some people actually live like this), but a super disappointing ending.

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