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hayleyee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookph1le's review
4.0
Woo hoo! This is my 100th book of 2022 and I enjoyed it!
One of the best mystery/thrillers I've read in a while. It's the sort of book that's totally my jam. It takes place in a small, closed environment, it's far more concerned with the psychology of its characters than it is with flashy plot twists, and when the big revelation happens it makes sense. It all felt very grounded in reality and tragically believable to me, which is what made it work. It is worth noting, though, that it's the kind of book where the misery is so palpable, it'll make you want to run far, far away from the setting--in this case, a small town in Australia.
I do have a couple of quibbles with it. I didn't care for the chorus of child narrators. To me they felt like they existed just to reinforce the misery of the setting, but that was entirely unnecessary because all the other parts of the book do plenty to establish the setting's misery. I also didn't find Ronnie's POV chapters all that convincing because her voice came across as far too old for an 11-year-old to me.
Kudos to this author and to the book for giving all of the characters plenty of shades of gray, and for allowing them to do bad things and be bad people, but doing so in a way that felt authentic to who the characters were. I'm always thrilled when I finish a book and feel like I totally understood everyone's motivations (which is not to say I agreed with them) rather than feeling cheated by cheap narrative tricks. I think this author has a lot of potential, and I'm definitely interested in reading more.
One of the best mystery/thrillers I've read in a while. It's the sort of book that's totally my jam. It takes place in a small, closed environment, it's far more concerned with the psychology of its characters than it is with flashy plot twists, and when the big revelation happens it makes sense. It all felt very grounded in reality and tragically believable to me, which is what made it work. It is worth noting, though, that it's the kind of book where the misery is so palpable, it'll make you want to run far, far away from the setting--in this case, a small town in Australia.
I do have a couple of quibbles with it. I didn't care for the chorus of child narrators. To me they felt like they existed just to reinforce the misery of the setting, but that was entirely unnecessary because all the other parts of the book do plenty to establish the setting's misery. I also didn't find Ronnie's POV chapters all that convincing because her voice came across as far too old for an 11-year-old to me.
Kudos to this author and to the book for giving all of the characters plenty of shades of gray, and for allowing them to do bad things and be bad people, but doing so in a way that felt authentic to who the characters were. I'm always thrilled when I finish a book and feel like I totally understood everyone's motivations (which is not to say I agreed with them) rather than feeling cheated by cheap narrative tricks. I think this author has a lot of potential, and I'm definitely interested in reading more.
frenchfrybri's review against another edition
4.0
i liked the writing and the pacing was excellent. i did not like the “we” chapters and how it was multiple POV but only ronnie was first person? also didn’t like how it ended but it worked- i just didn’t want it to turn out like that
katezim's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
mrsshelvey69's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
When 12 year old Esther disappears on the way home from school her best friend Ronnie, is determined to find Esther. So when schoolfriend Lewis tells Ronnie that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why won't Lewis speak to the police? And who else is lying?
This is a slow paced heartbreaking riveting story with great writing, realistic characters & entertaining plot! Dirt Creek is an isolated town that is hiding some dirty secrets. Multiple pov & the timeline changes with the pov but the reader gets a great understanding of what happened. Hayley Scrivenor's writing truly brings everything to life right before your eyes! Wonderful debut novel!
This is a slow paced heartbreaking riveting story with great writing, realistic characters & entertaining plot! Dirt Creek is an isolated town that is hiding some dirty secrets. Multiple pov & the timeline changes with the pov but the reader gets a great understanding of what happened. Hayley Scrivenor's writing truly brings everything to life right before your eyes! Wonderful debut novel!
lipsillen's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
booksadoodle's review against another edition
3.0
This is a story of a small-town girl in Australia who goes missing after school, and all the twists and turns of small-town people during the investigation of what happened. This has a lot of character development in learning about all the people/players in the town, which I like. You really get a good feel for each person and their lives/motives/involvement. However, I did feel that this was a bit of a slow burn for me, and it took me a bit to get through it. While I loved all the build-up and development, I felt that the story took a bit too long to get to the crux. I would have liked it to be more suspenseful and a faster pace.
raspberrythriller's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0