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valpuri's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility, Grief, Body shaming, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Confinement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Classism, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcohol and Forced institutionalization
teaxmillions's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Forced institutionalization
nickoliver's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5
The first 100 pages or so left me skeptical, I didn't particularly enjoy them. (To be fair, that was partly because I really didn't enjoy the character that seemed to be at the centre of it, and he wasn't supposed to be likeable, so that was a problem I pretty much knew was going to happen.) However, it got a lot better after a certain time!
I think part of it had to do with the fact that the aforementioned character, Teddy, wasn't the only perspective I read from. The story was told from a whole cast of characters and even changed within one chapter several times, which kept things interesting. And while no one was extremely likeable, not all of them were narcissistic psychopaths, and most of them did feel very real and authentic.
Plus, there were so many twists and turns! I was actually surprised by how hooked I was, because I thought going into it that it was going to be very clear-cut. And while yes, the murderer was who you thought he was the entire time, there were still some directions Downing took that made the story intriguing and not boring and entirely predictable. I definitely enjoyed this a lot more than "My Lovely Wife"!
I think part of it had to do with the fact that the aforementioned character, Teddy, wasn't the only perspective I read from. The story was told from a whole cast of characters and even changed within one chapter several times, which kept things interesting. And while no one was extremely likeable, not all of them were narcissistic psychopaths, and most of them did feel very real and authentic.
Plus, there were so many twists and turns! I was actually surprised by how hooked I was, because I thought going into it that it was going to be very clear-cut. And while yes, the murderer was who you thought he was the entire time, there were still some directions Downing took that made the story intriguing and not boring and entirely predictable. I definitely enjoyed this a lot more than "My Lovely Wife"!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Death, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
CW poisoning (including carbon monoxide poisoning), toxic parentsabookwithtea's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Nel bene e nel male è un thriller di Samantha Downing (già autrice del Bestseller Il matrimonio dei segreti.
A mio parere è un thriller un po’ atipico perché quasi fin da subito è abbastanza chiaro chi è il colpevole dell’omicidio alla Belmond Academy, la sua peculiarità però sta nel fatto che alcuni depistamenti sono sensatissimi e coerenti con la trama ed alcuni avvenimenti vengono accennati a fine capitolo senza trovare però risposta subito dopo.
Altra peculiarità è il fatto che non ci siano realmente dei protagonisti principali, sì ci sono personaggi più o meno ricorrenti che hanno più o meno spazio nel libro ma nessuno di essi può venir definito personaggio secondario ed ogni azione o pensiero scritto non è casuale ma bensì con un specifico senso e obiettivo nella storia.
I capitoli sono davvero brevi ma si può dire tranquillamente che finiscono quasi tutti con un cliffhanger che porterà il lettore a non riuscirsi a staccare dalle pagine.
Non ci sono descrizioni superficiali e la narrazione, di conseguenza, non risulta lenta.
Ciò che mi è piaciuto di questo libro è il fondo di verità su cui si basa: le indagini che vanno a rilento, persone che vengono accusate ingiustamente, gente che pensa che il loro giudizio personale valga più delle leggi. Sono tutte cose che, ahimè, succedono anche al giorno d’oggi.
Al contrario, ho trovato un po’ difficile per me familiarizzare con lo stile di scrittura dell’autrice che nello stesso capitolo passa da personaggio a personaggio troppo velocemente, costringendomi a rileggere alcuni passaggi per capire chi stava parlando di chi.
In generale è un buon thriller non troppo impegnativo che consiglierei a chiunque voglia approcciarsi al genere ma non lo ha ancora fatto per paura di aspetti troppo psicologici o violenti.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Death of parent
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
chelsearose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Gaslighting, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Drug use
stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Oh God this book was so good! From the first to the line last I was so hooked. I want to especially stress on the first and last line because I think the author really got those two lines right. They shaped the book and it was everything the story was trying to say.
Teddy Teddy Teddy Teddy! What to say about you! You're one disgusting and infuriating man ever! He went around hating the entitled people a lot but no one believed themselves more entitled then Teddy. But his character is what I liked best about this book. His thinking and values and those said things leading to his crooked actions got the story rolling in every direction. The book had a lot of twists and turns and honestly if I was detective in this story I seriously wouldn't have a clue about all these murders though yes I wouldn't make stupid arrests like them. I was happy that the story didn't stop at just one murder. A lot of other characters were also there and while they contributed a lot I couldn't find them fascinating enough like Teddy. And I wanted a backstory of Teddy though I can guess his early life from the snippets. Nevertheless as a psychological thriller it was really gripping and quite enjoyable.
Teddy Teddy Teddy Teddy! What to say about you! You're one disgusting and infuriating man ever! He went around hating the entitled people a lot but no one believed themselves more entitled then Teddy. But his character is what I liked best about this book. His thinking and values and those said things leading to his crooked actions got the story rolling in every direction. The book had a lot of twists and turns and honestly if I was detective in this story I seriously wouldn't have a clue about all these murders though yes I wouldn't make stupid arrests like them. I was happy that the story didn't stop at just one murder. A lot of other characters were also there and while they contributed a lot I couldn't find them fascinating enough like Teddy. And I wanted a backstory of Teddy though I can guess his early life from the snippets. Nevertheless as a psychological thriller it was really gripping and quite enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
travelseatsreads's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.0
For Your Own Good is a fast paced read with short snappy chapters that immediately draws you in. There is plenty of action and so many twists and turns that your head will be spinning. It will have you turning the pages obsessively because you will be curious as to what the hell is going to happen next.
The reason I liked it and not loved it for me came down to mainly knowing who the 'bad-guy' was from very early on (it's told within the storyline so not a spoiler). That and the sheer volume of twists and shock-horror moments kept me at a little bit of a distance from the characters and storyline.
Still, a really good thriller to sit down and immerse yourself in without too much overthinking.
The reason I liked it and not loved it for me came down to mainly knowing who the 'bad-guy' was from very early on (it's told within the storyline so not a spoiler). That and the sheer volume of twists and shock-horror moments kept me at a little bit of a distance from the characters and storyline.
Still, a really good thriller to sit down and immerse yourself in without too much overthinking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Drug abuse
rachelibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
logger_j's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Stalking
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Car accident