Reviews

First Born by Will Dean

julittleton's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Back home, back to reality, back to a slower reading pace 😅 I was so impressed with The Chamber that I went straight for another Will Dean - First Born. Published prior to The Last Passenger, you can tell this is where 'the twist' started to feature in his novel structure. I'm yet to read The Last Thing to Burn so can't comment on that one just yet! Again though, I really enjoyed this. Molly is almost unbelievably risk averse and unsociable, it's probably because of this that I worked out the second twist quite early on. It didn't detract from the storyline though. Will Dean is definitely one of my favourite authors at the moment, I'm looking forward to more from him!

hmendel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.75

So many unnecessary details and illogical things happen that it kinda took me out of the book and gawk a little bit. It seems like the author had never been to NYC before. There were some loose ends that never got tied up or clarified either. Crazy plot twist that I didn't exactly see coming, but knew something was happening due to all the red herrings dropped in the first half of the book

rosemwood's review against another edition

4.0

I want to give this twisted psychological Thriller 5 stars but there were parts that were just too hard to get into. The author i think could have cut maybe a 75 pages of way to much details. But i do recommend reading this book and you won't believe the twists.

thebstandsforbooks's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The end of chapter 22- what?!? This twist then the other twist then what?! 😩😳

aturnquest's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

spatterson12's review against another edition

2.0

When the main character pulled up either the 13th or 17th page of Google results as part of a research marathon session, I knew reality was out the window for this story. Who goes past the second page?

This felt like one of those movies where you talk throughout the entire 90 minutes, pulling apart each moment on screen. The experience is more what you make of it rather than what it was designed to create.

Details that could’ve been reduced or left out entirely: Every variety of coffee drink ordered, the frequent reminder that Katie and Molly are twins, that Molly preferred to call her KT, the NYC marathon, and that twins usually don’t survive beyond 24 months without each other. Was that last bit supposed to set up for a sequel? I won’t find out.

Molly is an anxious admin in London who receives a call from her parents that her sister KT is found dead in her NYC home while they’re visiting for the week. Molly is terrified of flying, but she braves the air and finds her way in the US to support her parents and learn of her sister’s life. Except her focus is on finding the murderer and meeting up with all of KT’s acquaintances instead of staying by her parents’ side, because that’s what someone who is essentially a doomsday prepper would do.

lisaconn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

courtney_anne's review against another edition

2.0

This story seems to lack a real conclusion. It is written with very clear direction of how the writer wants the reader to think. They purposefully litter misleading clues throughout the book, but they are so obviously decoys that they hardly add to the plot. The initial twist did capture my interest but not for long as too many additional twists follow, undoing all that was established. By the end, you come to realize the lack of thought that went into where the twists would lead. Almost as if the idea for the book came from the twists themselves, and everything else was written sloppily around it.

rachel2151's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.75

Molly was so annoying that i almost couldn’t get through the beginning of the book. the plot felt so all over the place but i also couldn’t get that invested. it was enjoyable enough that i ended up finishing it, but not sure this is one i’d recommend. 

pirate's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0