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jadedmirror's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
I read this book because I really liked Scott Smith's novel The Ruins. I enjoy his writing style but when he decided to kill his brother I had a gut wrenching feeling from then on that didn't stop till I finished the book. Also the dog scene wasn't necessary. He could have tried to put the dog up for adoption. It's obvious they weren't even trying to give the dog a happy home. He was stuck outside chained up all the time . Overall I just started hating the main character from the way he treats his brother, to the dog, the sheriff... Dude was not a good dude. When I finished the novel I just felt bad lol. Definitely left an impact, whether that be bad or good, right now I can't say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Gun violence, and Death
gellyreads's review against another edition
tense
slow-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
3.0
The first half of this book was an absolute slog. It picked up, but God. Hank is disgusting and I wanted to hurt him throughout the entire book. He should've never been married or had kids. This book made me keep thinking "men should be stopped" and not for the reasons the author wanted me to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
meganrae047'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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Death, Animal death, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy
wolfiegrrrl's review against another edition
I managed to read four chapters (129 pages) into the book before I had to finally give up on it. The writing is repetitive, predictable, and very heavy-handed with the horror/thriller novel tropes it is trying to cram into such a small book. Add this to the fact that the author breaks the "show don't tell" rule of writing and it felt like I was being continuously beaten over the head with Very Obvious Information that I would have much rather inferred using context clues than be told every few paragraphs just in case I forgot the last time a character said/did that same thing. I understand that the author was attempting to write it this way in order to pose a question about morality and prompt the reader to realize that they could just as easily end up in the shoes of the main characters, but I could not relate at all to the actions taken in the story, so these constant blows intended to strike fear into my heart only had me resenting the characters instead... more than I already started to at the first tastes of their abysmal personalities.
The first chapter of the book was a struggle for me to push through not only because of the writing but because of how unlikable all of the characters are. If the back cover of the book hadn't promised an ominous body count regarding the mysterious bag of money, I would have dropped the book as early as partway through chapter 2 (about 46 pages in). Unfortunately, it took me a while longer to realize that the back cover got my hopes up in a way the contents of the writing wasn't going to deliver and, since I couldn't find any reason to care about the fates of the characters to begin with, I have no desire to discover what really happens to them or where the money really came from now that I know the twist. Of course, I may be wrong and there might be better development further into the book, so I could possibly recommend it to someone who likes to hate the characters and enjoys watching them screw themselves over for no reason other than "the plot says so." That being said, I am glad to see other reviews that show other people are getting more out of this book than I did.
The first chapter of the book was a struggle for me to push through not only because of the writing but because of how unlikable all of the characters are. If the back cover of the book hadn't promised an ominous body count regarding the mysterious bag of money, I would have dropped the book as early as partway through chapter 2 (about 46 pages in). Unfortunately, it took me a while longer to realize that the back cover got my hopes up in a way the contents of the writing wasn't going to deliver and, since I couldn't find any reason to care about the fates of the characters to begin with, I have no desire to discover what really happens to them or where the money really came from now that I know the twist. Of course, I may be wrong and there might be better development further into the book, so I could possibly recommend it to someone who likes to hate the characters and enjoys watching them screw themselves over for no reason other than "the plot says so." That being said, I am glad to see other reviews that show other people are getting more out of this book than I did.
It is clear that the author was trying to model this novel after the more popular and established thriller/suspense/horror novels that had come before it, but instead of crafting his own style he ended up creating a kind of Frankenstein's monster of a story using other writers' successful tropes just because "this other person did it, so my story needs to have it too" even if it didn't all quite fit together. To be fair, this book is decades old and I might have found the tropes predictable simply because I've seen them all before, so this book might appeal more to someone who is fresh to the genre or who might be looking for a comfort read with familiar tropes. We all love a good familiar piece of writing from time to time! It just so happens that this book isn't for me.
In short, I was hoping this would be a novel about a guy who makes a mistake that results in everyone in his small town dropping dead one by one at the hands of a mysterious external force that wants to reclaim the money he stole, prompting him to run for his life while desperately struggling to discover who's after him before he ends up being the next victim. Unfortunately for me, that driving murderous force was more internal and far less mysterious.
In short, I was hoping this would be a novel about a guy who makes a mistake that results in everyone in his small town dropping dead one by one at the hands of a mysterious external force that wants to reclaim the money he stole, prompting him to run for his life while desperately struggling to discover who's after him before he ends up being the next victim. Unfortunately for me, that driving murderous force was more internal and far less mysterious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
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