Reviews

I think I read this one way too far after the hype train had left the station.

It started off so interesting, Anna is stuck in her house due to agoraphobia and she witnesses a murder that no one else saw, and in fact the murdered woman can’t be who she said she was as another woman appears claiming to have her identity. Intriguing!

After that it goes downhill. Anna is a very frustrating character to follow. She’s constantly mixing her medications with copious amounts of alcohol, yelling at people, and then wonders why no one will believe her. I did find the gaslighting of the police frustrating on her behalf, but I don’t think I would believe her either with the way she presents herself. I think I would’ve liked it better had she pulled herself together once she realized she wasn’t believed, but instead she keeps telling herself to do exactly that, and then never does it! Instead she just sits around playing chess, giving other people advice online, and getting blackout drunk all the time.

The random sex scene was also totally worthless and jarring imo. Not even sure why it had to exist.

I did think the plot twist with her family was interesting, but not enough to make up for all the rest. The old film references also got old after awhile. Maybe if I knew them I would find them a better addition, but I just ended up skimming all those parts in the hopes to find some more action. The killer wasn’t my favorite. It definitely was creepy, I’ll give it that.

This one definitely won’t be sticking with me, it went on way too long for what it had to say.

popgoesbitty's review against another edition

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2.0

CWs: substance abuse, murder, gaslighting, verbal abuse, death of child

Oh my GOD I hated this book. Really beautiful writing just absolutely wasted on one of the least imaginative thriller plots I've ever read.

Now, now. I think I'm being a bit harsh. Had this come out before Gillian Flynn ushered in the unreliable-yet-gaslit-woman-who-could-actually-be-telling-the-truth-but-we'll-never-know narrator era, it would probably stand out. Maybe it could have ushered in the era on its own. But this came out a whopping 6 years after Flynn exploded on the scene. A little late, a little been there done that.

The 2 stars are because I loved the contemporary noir writing. The narration was witty and quick. But ugh.

minguyen's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

neferpitoo's review against another edition

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2.0

It was alright.

The good: Very engaging in the middle, and I think the author is great at gradually revealing information and foreshadowing. Things I initially marked as things that annoyed me make perfect sense in retrospect. The day-by-day format and short chapter lengths are great at conveying the mental state of the protagonist. I also really liked the characterization of certain characters.

The not so good: The writing felt very stiff and repetitive at points, and a lot of the book was reminiscent of Gone Girl and especially The Woman on the Train. Unfortunately, for me it came across as formulaic way too often. My biggest issues were something that happens towards the end which really made me lose interest and the fact that it didn't really feel like the setting made sense? By this, I mean that the characters are supposed to be living in these multimillion dollar NYC houses but it sometimes felt like they were just in some random suburb. Also, the protagonist is really stupid. Like, REALLY stupid. Like, earth-shatteringly stupid. It was very often frustrating to read, which might have been the point but I didn't enjoy the way I had to keep watching her waffle around situations that I saw coming from a mile away.

My rating: 2 stars: glad I read it, but not a huge fan.

razzberry98's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

amanda1793's review against another edition

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5.0

4.75 ⭐

I LOVED this, and I totally understand and agree with the hype.

The first little bit of this book is slightly slow going. But after about page 100, things get crazy!

I did get similar vibes as "The Girl on the Train" based on the fact that our narrator is not the most reliable because of her mental health and addictions.

Overall, this would have to be one of my favourite thrillers I've read in the last year or so, and I can't wait to see what A. J. Flynn comes up with next.

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