Reviews with content warning for Violence - Rock Paper Scissors

This was a pretty twisty mystery that did surprise me multiple times. I liked the format with the multiple POVs and also the uncertainty with each of the POVs. It was hard to pinpoint every single thing from the start, which was nice for a mystery.

Near the end I did feel like there might have been an extra chapter or two that were not needed for me but I do appreciate the added information they provided.

I'd rather not say much about the plot but if you like mysteries about writers and novels then this might be for you. I also enjoyed the winter setting in a remote chapel and the epistolary format for some of the chapters.

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danyels_denouements's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

4.0

*shudders*

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kktaylor11's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I almost gave up on this book. About 2/3 of the way through I was frustrated. I thought "I've got this figured out, I know what is coming, and it's really just not that good." I almost quit. But the letters got me. I figured I'd skim through what was left because I was already on the 8th anniversary and the whole book was focused on the 10th so it couldn't be that long.

IT GOT SO GOOD!! I was wrong! All the things I thought I had figured out were NOT figured out. It's still really more of a 3.5, but because it surprised me, I'll round up. It's a good escape book - not something I would put on my shelf or ever re-read, but one I'd recommend to someone who likes mystery/domestic drama.

That said, I do have a few frustrations (see spoilers)

I felt like some of the "clues" were dropped to intentionally mislead, and that always irritates me. IE: The "red lipstick" emphasis and the "I like sayings" moments were red herrings to point you at October...who conveniently turned out to be absolutely no one in the book. She just died to take her out of the plot. When details naturally distract you, but DO have a legitimate purpose I love it - but when they are exaggerated just to intentionally mislead you I think it's a cheap trick by the author. Unlike a real mystery, where we have the ability to invesitgate whatever we want to, in a novel you are constrained by what the author choses to tell you, and if the author chooses to tell you only details designed to lead you in the wrong direction it feels manipulative.

Similarly, I think Robin's "oddness" is hyper-exaggerated when she is first introduced. She comes across as not all there mentally, her language and mannerisms are exaggerated to make her seem much older and out of touch with reality. Then at the end she's suddenly totally normal and just Adam's loving ex-wife. I think that was a touch misleading.

I also think the twist-twist-twist ending was too convenient, and left too many threads unexplained. The wife/ex-wife letter situation was enough -- it was VERY well done! Once it was made clear and I looked back I realized IT was done perfectly. At the very beginning there was a part where Amelia commented that Adam "never wanted to have a baby" because he couldn't imagine not recognizing its face...but then the early letters were all about IVF which didn't make sense....then suddenly it did. He didn't want to have a baby with AMELIA, but he was happy to with Robin. That twist was enough. We didn't need the "Amelia was the one who killed your mother" moment (which didn't really seem realistic, and didn't really explain why Amelia had to basically BECOME Robin in order to make Adam like her....and we REALLY didn't need the "Adam remembers killing his own mother and Amelia taking the blame" moment. That was just too much. Also, the memories of Harry and the hair cutting and the investigator...it was just overkill. Stick with Robin had a bad childhood and escaped as soon as she could and let Amelia die of her asthma.

I also thought the faceblindness aspect was fascinating, but inaccurate. I've done a lot of reading on this, and Feeney seems to almost abuse this trait as a justification for things in this story. Someone with faceblindness their entire life, like Adam, would not be as ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS as Adam is. It's definitely a justification for not being able to read emotions in people's faces, but faces are not "like a van gogh painting" -- the features are all there, and those with face blindness for their whole life (like Adam) have learned a million coping mechanisms and are MUCH more aware of things like tone of voice, body style, gait, mannerisms, etc. So the constant "I don't know what's going on because of my faceblindness" in order to move the story line along was frustrating. (Side note, if you're interested in this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MzNPcEh6M">HERE</a> is a great short video on it !)

Overall, though -- this was a good one, and definitely worth the 4-5 hours it took me to read it!

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sierrabowers's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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ihatecarlos8's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Honestly this has to be one of my favorite books so far. The plot twist and connections near the end had me so shocked yet so intrigued. I felt like I couldn't put it down and the characters were so interesting and lovable and it felt like the story finally started getting better.

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