Reviews

Reads like a true crime novel with multiple timelines and points of view. Murder mystery with little suspense.

Follows a young man whose family has just died on vacation after a documentary questioning the innocence of his older brother, serving time for murder, is released.

crlopez2013's review against another edition

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1.0

TW: Sexual assault, fatphobia, racism

The storyline itself sounds interesting but slow to unfold. I usually enjoy multiple POV's in books but there wasn't enough time with each character to really get to know them. There was way too much POV spent with the FBI agent, the most boring character in the book except perhaps the protagonist, Matt. I also found it hard to believe Matt's POV as someone who's entire family was just murdered. Everyone reacts differently to death, but he had no emotional spectrum at all besides periods of rage and superficial acts of grief. Just a poorly written character in my opinion.

The writing was really off-putting and there were a number of scenes about violence against women that served no purpose to the story. For example, Maggie experiences an attempted sexual assault at a party. Maybe the event is to add something more "interesting" to her character development, but it didn't add anything at all. Another part was an excerpt of the screenplay for the documentary where a serial killer is being interviewed. He says really gross things about his murders about how "smooth and young" his victims were. Again, this adds nothing to the story. Lastly, there was a line about a former psychiatrist at the prison who was "convicted of manipulating patients into blowing him." Theres another scene at the end of the book that I won't mention because of a spoiler, but the author is obsessed with sexual violence against women. Sus indeed.

Another issue I had was the pretty blatant racism and fatphobia sprinkled throughout. The nurse at an assisted living facility is repeatedly described as black and having a Jamaican accent, an unnecessary stereotype. Same with all of Matt's friends. And the depiction of the people in Mexico made it seem like theyre all dirty, poor, or dangerous. It's like the author tried to force "diversity" in the book for representation but did so in the most on-the-nose way and slightly offensive way possible.

There are lines in the book like "an obese man scuttled over" and "the flight attendant was a plump woman in a polyester uniform." "She was still the same, heavyset with eyes too far apart." I get that adding descriptors enhances the writing, but all the fat characters were written with a tone of disgust and disdain.

I read through this book quickly because I was frustrated with the pace. Kinda wish I hadn't read it though. Wouldn't recommend.

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

A debut thriller about a family made famous by a Netflix true crime documentary... After Danny Pine is put in prison for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death, the Pine family is put into the spotlight with a documentary made about the case. Danny's father and younger sister are tireless in the pursuit of truth and freeing Danny. A number of years later, Danny's younger brother Matt is attending college in NYC and is informed one night that his father, mother, sister and younger brother have been found dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning while on vacation in Mexico. Their deaths bring the Pine family back into the headlines. An FBI agent lets Matt know that she doesn't think their deaths were accidental. Matt starts to think that his family's deaths are related to Danny's case.

The novel shifts between multiple perspectives and moves back and forth in time. There are snippets from the documentary, Matt's perspective, the lead FBI agent and other members of The Pine family. This was a fast paced story offering up a lot of information that all coalesced in the end. There were lots of twists and action along the way. If you like thrillers, Alex Finlay is definitely an author to watch.

What to listen to while reading...
Numb by Linkin Park
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Little Dark Age by MGMT
This Mess We're In by PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke
All I Think About Now by Pixies

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

jourdanedwards's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

natebragg's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun, albeit somewhat predictable mystery/thriller. I enjoyed reading this book and found many of the characters easy to root for. The documentary sections were a nice wrinkle that added something different compared to similar styled books.

rstankievech's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

alixfish's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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