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2.78 AVERAGE
2.78 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
mysterious
tense
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:
N/A
If you’re looking for a whodunnit wrapped with a tight bow, this book is not for you.
But if you’re open to a slow burning, foreboding, contemporary New England gothic that’s more interested in raising questions than resolving them, then Murphy’s stunning writing will gradually sweep you away—like the sea pulling a body, inchmeal, toward the dark horizon.
But if you’re open to a slow burning, foreboding, contemporary New England gothic that’s more interested in raising questions than resolving them, then Murphy’s stunning writing will gradually sweep you away—like the sea pulling a body, inchmeal, toward the dark horizon.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not really what I expected. Just was kind of flat throughout most of the book. The end was interesting for sure.
fast-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:
Complicated
Boring. It seemed like the author was scared to commit to any conflict within the book
Just… so bad… I can’t believe this made the must read lists of 2025 releases.
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just... nothingness. Every few chapters, something bordering on interesting happens peripherally, and then the author directs away from it without a second thought. There are several narrative threads but they never tangle or tie together in a meaningful way. I don't mind a book which makes an intentional choice to leave a plot point unresolved or ambiguous, but I do have a problem with books which barely develop any of their plot points.
None of the characters are likeable; fine, but the true crime here is that none of them are interesting. I am utterly tired of reading stories about bored rich empty New Yorkers who don't have any real love or connections in their lives. Only the characters Camille and Rami had anything approaching a personality. The main character's twin children have no dialogue and remain nameless throughout the book. This is clearly an authorial choice, a semi-interesting one at that, but it doesn't seem to develop into anything. There were many times where characters would ask questions of one another but then they all skirted around giving real answers. Frankly, it became frustrating.
I will say the one positive note I have for this book was the atmospheric setting. Murphy does a good job illustrating not how the central beach house looks but how it feels. The small town and the marsh nearby are also described in a realistic, lived-in sort of way. This was barely enough to keep my attention as I weighed abandoning the book.
All in all, this book was strange—and not in a good way. I am admittedly biased towards books with more clear-cut resolutions but this one simply didn't even try. Only one of the mysteries was revealed at the end and honestly it was the least interesting of them all, as well as the most anticlimactic ending I've read this year. The book couldn't decide if it wanted to he a ghost story, a mystery, or jaded literary fiction about rich people. A combination of the three might have been interesting; The House on Buzzards Bay fails at each of these.
None of the characters are likeable; fine, but the true crime here is that none of them are interesting. I am utterly tired of reading stories about bored rich empty New Yorkers who don't have any real love or connections in their lives. Only the characters Camille and Rami had anything approaching a personality. The main character's twin children have no dialogue and remain nameless throughout the book. This is clearly an authorial choice, a semi-interesting one at that, but it doesn't seem to develop into anything. There were many times where characters would ask questions of one another but then they all skirted around giving real answers. Frankly, it became frustrating.
I will say the one positive note I have for this book was the atmospheric setting. Murphy does a good job illustrating not how the central beach house looks but how it feels. The small town and the marsh nearby are also described in a realistic, lived-in sort of way. This was barely enough to keep my attention as I weighed abandoning the book.
All in all, this book was strange—and not in a good way. I am admittedly biased towards books with more clear-cut resolutions but this one simply didn't even try. Only one of the mysteries was revealed at the end and honestly it was the least interesting of them all, as well as the most anticlimactic ending I've read this year. The book couldn't decide if it wanted to he a ghost story, a mystery, or jaded literary fiction about rich people. A combination of the three might have been interesting; The House on Buzzards Bay fails at each of these.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
DNF@ 25%
This was so boring and the building friend drama wasn’t at all compelling enough to keep me curious about what might be coming next.
This was so boring and the building friend drama wasn’t at all compelling enough to keep me curious about what might be coming next.