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calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Drug use, and Drug abuse
david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think this is like 3.5 or 3.75 stars rounded up to a 4 but I really enjoyed this much more than what I would consider to be a 3-star book. I really liked the premise of the book and I feel it mostly stuck to it and delivered on what it promised even if I'm somewhat torn with the ending.
The story kept me engaged throughout and there was never really a moment where I felt bored, I think a lot of that came down to the dual timelines/perspectives as well as one of those perspectives in Anna being an unreliable narrator as we are unsure in what she is saying is accurate whilst also learning that she has confessed to the murders. It really kept me engaged as well as wanting to learn how and why Anna knew the things that she did about Zoe, a girl she had supposedly never met yet not only looked nearly identical to her but also had a connection to her. The reason as to how and why both Anna and Zoe were connected and looked similar was something that I guessed a little after halfway through the book and then only became more certain of near the end of the book but that doesn't make the plot twist of them being half-sisters any less impactful or good as it felt like something that you needed to focus on the background details (e.g Mr and Mrs Spanos having a history of taking breaks, Anna's father not being in the picture etc) for if you wanted to guess it as it took a lesser focus in comparison to finding out what happened to Zoe.
I experienced this book through audiobook on Audible so I liked the fact that there was a cast of characters even if none really stood out besides Martina and Anna aka the two leads/lead perspectives of the book and to a certain extent Zoe too but sadly it was missing a developed background and supporting cast of characters to act as the Heron Mills community which meant that it was less impactful when they were placed under suspicion for being involved in Zoe's disappearance but I do think that Anna, in particular, sort of makes up for this. Anna being a sort of unreliable narrator means that everything she says happens unless corroborated by others must be taken with a pinch of salt and near the end of the book it really does do a good job of potentially making it be Anna as the killer of Zoe Spanos reinforced by her shady past with her friends before taking this summer nanny job. I found the unexplained fate of her friend Star to be a good representation of how a lot of missing cases, unlike the main case in this book, aren't ever really closed due to it never being discovered what happened to the missing person and how that can affect people.
The reveal at the end was somewhat of a mixed bag though, I do contribute my feelings towards it to being slightly hindered by confusion as I was doing something else at the time that was the focus and at the forefront of my mind so that may have been why I didn't see it coming that Aster was Zoe's unintended killer. I don't mind the reveal and I'm not opposed to the fact that it was accidental but even if in hindsight some of Aster's reluctance to support the podcast that Martina was making was evidence that she may have done it, the reveal did feel somewhat anti-climactic and the events leading up to what caused it all to happen felt somewhat rushed. However, I do really appreciate the penultimate chapter of the book being dedicated to explaining the timeline of events and making them more coherent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this even if the main reveal was slightly disappointing and the cast of characters besides from the main ones were just... there, I still enjoyed my time with the book particularly with the unreliable narrator aspect as well as the dual perspectives and timelines which helped develop the unreliable narrator aspect of the book and vice versa.
The story kept me engaged throughout and there was never really a moment where I felt bored, I think a lot of that came down to the dual timelines/perspectives as well as one of those perspectives in Anna being an unreliable narrator as we are unsure in what she is saying is accurate whilst also learning that she has confessed to the murders. It really kept me engaged as well as wanting to learn how and why Anna knew the things that she did about Zoe, a girl she had supposedly never met yet not only looked nearly identical to her but also had a connection to her. The reason as to how and why both Anna and Zoe were connected and looked similar was something that I guessed a little after halfway through the book and then only became more certain of near the end of the book but that doesn't make the plot twist of them being half-sisters any less impactful or good as it felt like something that you needed to focus on the background details (e.g Mr and Mrs Spanos having a history of taking breaks, Anna's father not being in the picture etc) for if you wanted to guess it as it took a lesser focus in comparison to finding out what happened to Zoe.
I experienced this book through audiobook on Audible so I liked the fact that there was a cast of characters even if none really stood out besides Martina and Anna aka the two leads/lead perspectives of the book and to a certain extent Zoe too but sadly it was missing a developed background and supporting cast of characters to act as the Heron Mills community which meant that it was less impactful when they were placed under suspicion for being involved in Zoe's disappearance but I do think that Anna, in particular, sort of makes up for this. Anna being a sort of unreliable narrator means that everything she says happens unless corroborated by others must be taken with a pinch of salt and near the end of the book it really does do a good job of potentially making it be Anna as the killer of Zoe Spanos reinforced by her shady past with her friends before taking this summer nanny job. I found the unexplained fate of her friend Star to be a good representation of how a lot of missing cases, unlike the main case in this book, aren't ever really closed due to it never being discovered what happened to the missing person and how that can affect people.
The reveal at the end was somewhat of a mixed bag though, I do contribute my feelings towards it to being slightly hindered by confusion as I was doing something else at the time that was the focus and at the forefront of my mind so that may have been why I didn't see it coming that Aster was Zoe's unintended killer. I don't mind the reveal and I'm not opposed to the fact that it was accidental but even if in hindsight some of Aster's reluctance to support the podcast that Martina was making was evidence that she may have done it, the reveal did feel somewhat anti-climactic and the events leading up to what caused it all to happen felt somewhat rushed. However, I do really appreciate the penultimate chapter of the book being dedicated to explaining the timeline of events and making them more coherent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this even if the main reveal was slightly disappointing and the cast of characters besides from the main ones were just... there, I still enjoyed my time with the book particularly with the unreliable narrator aspect as well as the dual perspectives and timelines which helped develop the unreliable narrator aspect of the book and vice versa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Murder, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use
Minor: Mental illness, Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
thewoodlandbookshelf's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
charlieiniso's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Racism
krystalg's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Gore, Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Cursing, and Drug abuse
Minor: Infidelity
jijireads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
god damn this book. i give it a 4 because at times i was not a fan of the writing style because the poetic tone didn’t make sense in anna’s dialogue to me. but i understand how that adds a— with lack of a better term— mysterious aura to the book. also, at one point i found myself sick of the bread crumbs of information we got regarding the overarching mystery. however when it picked up… boy did it pick up. my jaw was slack for most of late part 3 and part 4 😭. the twists came one after another and i was genuinely surprised as i decided to sit back and let the story show me instead of trying to figure out the mystery myself. overall with layered characters, an interesting storytelling format, a host of twists and turns, and attention to detail, this was a gripping story about (vague spoilers) how sometimes our stories can intertwine in ways we would never imagine.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Death, and Drug abuse
bookishjamie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
mo345's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
2.0
i had such a hard time finishing this book. it reads like the first book of an author who has no idea what their writing style is. there are only two POC and LGBT+ characters, both of which feel forced and unnatural; most likely thrown in for “diversity points”. the ending was kind of a let down and was not as dramatic as the story made it seem like it would be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit
Moderate: Infidelity
viljahe's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder
spearly's review
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? It's complicated
4.0
“Maybe I thought it’s what she would have wanted. Maybe I was trying to make things right.”
“Make things right?” The detective repeats Anna’s words back to her.
“In some small way. After what I’d done. It was an accident, but … I killed Zoe Spanos."
What a trip. Anna was a great unreliable narrator, and the whole novel I was trying to parse out what was true and what wasn't. How did this girl, who comes to Herron Mills for a summer job, end up confessing to the murder of a girl who went missing months prior from a town she's never been to? How could we possibly get from point A to point B?
The back and forth timelines worked really well, though I'm not sure how much it was necessary. Part of me thinks that, after the first "Present Day" chapter, the whole story could have been told as "Then" until the timelines meets up with chapter 1. Still, The voices were very distinct (it helped that all the present day chapters were told in 3rd person and all the past chapters were told in 1st person). I understood the appeal of having some perspectives, particularly Martina's, following the case in the present day, trying to work through all the nonsensical of Anna's "Then" chapters.
This book reminded me of We Were Liars but with more enjoyable prose. We think we know where things are going until we don't. What happened on New Years Eve? Where is Zoe Spanos? Who is Anna, who looks uncannily like the missing girl? Why isn't Zoe's longtime boyfriend being completely honest with the police? Where is the missing boat from the dock? Why does Anna have memories of Harron Mills when she's never been here before taking the job?
These questions are all answered, of course, but it's a fun ride trying to figure it all out on our own. I'll admit, I wasn't even close (which is super fun, as the last few mystery/thrillers I've read, I've managed to guess the plot twist). While I did have to suspend my disbelief a bit (or perhaps I just don't know enough about how repressed / childhood memories can present themselves to teenagers), the ending was very satisfying. Even when you think things are all wrapped up, we get that delicious last chapter.
I ployed through this. The plot kept me guessing, the characters were simultaneously shady and charming, I could never tell when people were being honest, and I wanted to retain every small detail I could in case it ended up being important later. Frick did a great job blending a character driven and plot driven novel, providing readers just enough to make us think we knew where things were going.
Who Killed Zoe Spanos? You've gotta read to find out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis