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jessiejonesbentley's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Stalking, Alcohol, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Dementia, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
catherine_t's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life blows up spectacularly when her husband announces he's leaving her for her best friend Estelle. Stunned and grieving, Anna turns to other people's problems, in the form of a true-crime podcast... only it turns out that this particular other person is known to her. She met Leon Parker years earlier, when he was a guest at the hotel where she worked. Now she learns that he died on his yacht with his two children, Violetta and Mark.
Then Fin, Estelle's husband, shows up, and a meddling neighbour interferes, and suddenly Anna's past is roaring back like an express train. She and Fin find themselves on the run, whilst simultaneously investigating Leon's death and podcasting about it.
This was my first Denise Mina, but it won't be my last. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the whole premise. I thought the characters were great: Anna especially really leapt off the page, but all the characters were exceptional. And I totally didn't expect the twist at the end, even though, in retrospect, all the clues were there. Highly recommended.
Then Fin, Estelle's husband, shows up, and a meddling neighbour interferes, and suddenly Anna's past is roaring back like an express train. She and Fin find themselves on the run, whilst simultaneously investigating Leon's death and podcasting about it.
This was my first Denise Mina, but it won't be my last. I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the whole premise. I thought the characters were great: Anna especially really leapt off the page, but all the characters were exceptional. And I totally didn't expect the twist at the end, even though, in retrospect, all the clues were there. Highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent and Rape
zenzi2read's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
Minor: Infidelity and Suicide
malexinator's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
I'm not always a big fan of media that focuses on unlikable characters and how their past trauma makes them make stupid mistakes that makes the reader want to scream at them...but this book made it all work. The first person perspective made it relatable. The fast-pace was welcome. The miscommunication trope was not frustrating. I really enjoyed this book and how self-aware and smart it was!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
shaylac's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised reading this book. It started off slow with the typical husband leaves the main character (Anna) for her friend and Anna ends up having a mental breakdown. But the mental breakdown leads to an unlikely friend and confidant as they travel through Anna's past and parts of Scotland.
TLDR:
This thriller/mystery will take you through Anna's past recounting her life but in doing so finds an unlikely friend to uncover the mystery of an old friends death.
TLDR:
This thriller/mystery will take you through Anna's past recounting her life but in doing so finds an unlikely friend to uncover the mystery of an old friends death.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Infidelity, and Eating disorder
crystalleighwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Rape, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Death, Murder, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, and Death of parent
jewelkr's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
I picked up this book at a gelato shop during a book give away week - it was on my patio table with a nice note and ribbon. I don't enjoy reading fiction a lot but gave this a try. I liked the beginning of it which was kind of a misdirect - I'm not familiar with Mina's writing. I thought it was going to be about a woman going through a separation. I wish all books came with trigger warnings at the front - this one really needs that. Among an unexpected series of near-death attacks, references to gang-assault, a campaign of criminal threat by a rich woman (hate the woman against woman themes), there are also references to suicide and a major eating disorder. It is a well-written story other than the sudden ending but I'm still looking for fiction that provides drama, development, redemption and character growth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Rape, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Murder, Gaslighting, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
gracepf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Stalking
Minor: Domestic abuse, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Blood, Car accident, Body shaming, and Death of parent
what_heather_loves's review
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0
"There is a warmth and a comfort in hearing about people in worse situations than your own. . . . I had not murdered my entire family or killed myself. I hung onto that."
Present day Glasgow, Scotland and affluent mother of two, Anna is addicted to true crime podcasts. Her day starts out as normal, but is disrupted by husband Hamish announcing he's leaving her for friend and neighbour Estelle and taking their two girls. After he has left, distraught but determined Anna flees, and ends up with a travelling companion - Estelle's husband, famously anorexic musician, Fin. Listening to a new podcast, Death and The Dana, about the scuttling of a luxury yacht in Saint Martin leading to the death of its three passengers, startles Anna when she realises that, years before, she was friends with one of the passengers, wealthy Leon. No one understands why the yacht sank, but it appeared deliberate. Disturbingly for Anna, she has another connection to Leon, through his then wife, gangster billionaire, Greta. Anna's life explodes and normal rules no longer apply...
My first Denise Mina and certainly not my last. I knew it would be spectacular storytelling after hearing Sam Baker interview the author on her podcast, The Shift. It was also a Reese's Book Club pick. Anna is a complex character, handled masterfully by Mina, but I liked Fin too, found him funny if vulnerable. Including the topical subjects of true crime podcasts, fame and celebrity, and the dilemmas it creates, Mina's writing is exuberant, whipping the plot from glamorous locations like Skibo Castle and Venice to train journeys and escaping gangsters. It's one hell of a ride. I read this sparkling thriller compulsively over two days and nights.
Present day Glasgow, Scotland and affluent mother of two, Anna is addicted to true crime podcasts. Her day starts out as normal, but is disrupted by husband Hamish announcing he's leaving her for friend and neighbour Estelle and taking their two girls. After he has left, distraught but determined Anna flees, and ends up with a travelling companion - Estelle's husband, famously anorexic musician, Fin. Listening to a new podcast, Death and The Dana, about the scuttling of a luxury yacht in Saint Martin leading to the death of its three passengers, startles Anna when she realises that, years before, she was friends with one of the passengers, wealthy Leon. No one understands why the yacht sank, but it appeared deliberate. Disturbingly for Anna, she has another connection to Leon, through his then wife, gangster billionaire, Greta. Anna's life explodes and normal rules no longer apply...
My first Denise Mina and certainly not my last. I knew it would be spectacular storytelling after hearing Sam Baker interview the author on her podcast, The Shift. It was also a Reese's Book Club pick. Anna is a complex character, handled masterfully by Mina, but I liked Fin too, found him funny if vulnerable. Including the topical subjects of true crime podcasts, fame and celebrity, and the dilemmas it creates, Mina's writing is exuberant, whipping the plot from glamorous locations like Skibo Castle and Venice to train journeys and escaping gangsters. It's one hell of a ride. I read this sparkling thriller compulsively over two days and nights.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Sexual assault, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
felicitydisco's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A creepy, twisty puzzle.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts