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paronomaniac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
To start, it was unnecessarily long. A good edit could have cut 15-20% of the text and still maintained the story. The entire chapter on the protagonist using the Find My Phone app could have been two paragraphs, tops.
The story was also convoluted, and there were too many sub-plots. And the red herrings weren’t so much red herrings as the protagonist jumping to wrong conclusions, over and over again.
Worst of all, the villain’s motives were clichéd and out-of-the-blue.
The themes of trauma, guilt and complicated family were good and added depth to the characters. And there were other good themes and ideas in the book, but overall they were too disparate to come together into a cohesive story.
Moderate: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Blood, and Abortion
elyssajoh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, and Murder
starrysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The setting is a Sanatorium with a dark history (now converted into a modern hotel), hidden deep in the snowy mountains with shoddy cell service and avalanches barring escape. Sounds terrifying, right? Not here.
The pacing was maddeningly slow, the character development was nonexistent, and the men were walking red flags. The reason this is two stars instead of one is because I did appreciate some of the descriptive writing & as mentioned above, thought the concept was excellent.
Our main character, a detective dealing with lifelong panic attacks (starting with the death of her little brother as a child and amplified after a botched case), is shockingly inept. She does ... well .. just about everything wrong during her "investigation". And she is on the verge of tears throughout most of it, doubting herself and whining about her situation. I did not believe Elin was ever a detective (more like a casual true crime podcast listener).
Onto the mystery itself, which was painfully drawn out and filled with common tropes.
No spoilers, but the killer reveal and motivation was baffling. Totally far fetched - and the "clues" were ridiculous. Then, there's a tacked-on epilogue with a cliffhanger clearly intended to leave readers craving more Elin (it didn't work).
This should have been a super high stakes read, and the setting should have been actually utilized (why wasn't the Sanatorium given any characterization?). It's too bad.
CW: murder, death, medical trauma, child death, rape, panic attacks, abortion, kidnapping, confinement, force institutionalization, psychosis, mental illness, torture
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
sabrinainbookland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story was ok, the plot was a bit confusing at times, a lot of things happening al at once. I think it focus to much on the main character personal problems than on the mystery itself.
The main character we are following wasn’t the best. I think I hadn’t had enough time to like her or care if she was going to die in the book.
The writing was good and the scenery was very vived, with I liked quite a lot.
The epilogue was interesting and makes me questions if there will be a sequel to this story. Because it there isn’t , what was the point of the epilogue?
The plot wasn’t the best thing in the world but it did make me want to know what would happen in the end.
The ending was underwhelming and I honestly expected a lot more from this story considering that it was a Reese’s Book Club Pick.
This is a books that I would recommend if you like a mystery/thriller book that isn’t complicated to follow, with a small cast of characters and don’t mind if the paced of the book is moderate, not fast but also not painfully slow.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abortion
selenatothemax's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
_terah_hansen_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Forced institutionalization
jesscoast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I've been missing a story this action packed for a while. Pearse sets up every character so that the reader keeps guessing as to who is the suspect - and who the next victim might be. Though she relies on tropes, it's not necessarily a bad thing. If you had your "Mystery Novel Bingo Card" out, you might have filled it by the first half.
The story is complex enough, and made good use of Gothic elements - hidden tunnels, trap doors, secret rooms left off the plans. From the first few pages I expected the hotel building itself, and it's past as a tuburculosis clinic with a perhaps sinister past to play heavily into the plot, and I wasn't disappointed. The story unfolds in a number of threads, with red herrings and false starts knitted in throughout. Although a cover up and conspiracy are revealed, I wish it had gone a little further with that storyline. I found the systemic mistreatment of women a much more intriguing plot than petty personal motives, but the mix was nice.
In the end, I'm not entirely convinced every thread was satisfactorily wrapped up. There was a little too much going on to keep track of, and tying in Elin's past with the present was a bit messy. Some bits of the writing were choppy and awkward but it was mostly an easy read.
I can't complete my review without mentioning my annoyance with Elin. As a seasoned detective, she came across as naive and easily fooled and clumsy. She didn't play any of her leads close to her chest, she botched her investigation by not being able to keep her mouth shut. She didn't come across as reliable or professional, I found her approach very cringe. Also, who is narrating the epilogue? That didn't click into place at all for me.
Graphic: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
ekmook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
parkerknoll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
truecrimefan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Torture, Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Rape and Abortion