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jenga18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Grief, and Murder
dslifeloves's review against another edition
dark
tense
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
2.0
i’ve read almost all of lisa jewell’s books and she has a weird obsession w middle aged women who don’t consider themselves “traditional beauties” and the other women in the story who are.. it’s strange and in every one of them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Kidnapping and Stalking
an_isolated_reader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
So tense and gripping with the pace you expect from Lisa Jewell. Look at content warnings. Great characters, horrifyingly tense plot. Lots of little twists but I was expecting a big one which I didn't get. The only other negative is that the character of Lesley is not needed, she doesn't give us any information we couldn't get from someone else. Oh and having a character called Kitty and a character called Kirsty was unnecessarily confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
hrcobb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, and Stalking
jreads96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
kdaniels's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault
mellowhello's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
This was batshit! I loved it! Lisa Jewell’s thrillers are perhaps a tiny bit formulaic but having read just two now, I am a fan of the formula. So many moments of “what the hell kind of person would do this?” but I think that’s a big part of a good thriller!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
tamara_joy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Stalking, Alcohol, and Classism
aas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Intricate. Admiring. Unreserved.
We follow a cast of characters, mainly focused on a Ukrainian who moved to the UK after marrying their spouse, a single parent raising three kids in a small cottage, a person at a loss for memories drawn to the beach, and a protective teenage sibling on vacation with their family.
🇬🇧 Set over the summer in the fictional seaside vacation town of Ridinghouse Bay, UK in the 1990s and current times (2010s).
🎙️ Excellent narration. The narrator brings the story to life and it wasn’t difficult to discern all the characters.
🐺🐕 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
👌 Much of the suspense comes from figuring out the connection between the different times and characters. Impressively, it wasn't confusing, even with audio alone. It flowed well and connected in a natural and fascinating way to me.
👍 This is definitely more of a character driven story, so if you hate them all or don’t care, it could be a slog. I loved it because they mysteries are subtle, evenly paced, and never boring - at any given time I was doubtful about a person while also feeling sympathetic toward them and that was refined as the story progressed. For example, wondering if someone was a reluctant hero or fugitive on the run.
👍 This is definitely more of a character driven story, so if you hate them all or don’t care, it could be a slog. I loved it because they mysteries are subtle, evenly paced, and never boring - at any given time I was doubtful about a person while also feeling sympathetic toward them and that was refined as the story progressed. For example, wondering if someone was a reluctant hero or fugitive on the run.
👌 Brilliantly descriptive, but not overly detailed writing with realistic dialogue and multifaceted characters that are all well developed. They are unique (not tropey) but also recognizable.
🤷♀️ Amateur sleuthing is good, not overly contrived. Except at the end it started to get a bit restless for me. It took little turn where characters decided not to involve the police, there was some convenient journalism, and it’s not bad, it just broke the suspense and story for me a little bit.
😨 So for the most part I was thinking there was a juicy story here - did someone have a double life? Are they a jerk or really a sweetie? Lots of predictions along the way but the story took an unexpected turn at one point (to me). Without saying how or why, it led to a descriptive, disturbing attempted rape scene. Def check content warnings it was a tough read (or listen) but not gratuitous.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Contemporary fiction about uncovering the mystery of a character’s past due to amnesia/memory loss
- Mysterious stranger with a past romance
- Missing person, true crime energy with amateur sleuthing
- Seaside summer vibes
Content Heads-Up: Physical abuse. Adult/minor relationship. Obsession. Kidnapping, confinement. Sexual content (consentual). Sexual assault, attempted rape (on page, descriptive). Murder. Death of a parent, death of a child. Amnesia, dissociative fugue, memory loss. Medical (heart attack).
Format: Scribd Audio
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Death of parent