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yetilibrary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
(Review copied from Goodreads)
Three stars for being engaging, and for having >= 1 interesting character. Lost some points for having some very dull characters (boy, those sections dragged). The ending felt rushed and maybe even a little cheap, somehow, but I will say right now that I think my opinion about the ending is wrong and I'm just being petulant.
I will give another of Swanson's books a shot to see if I like it better. This one felt like he had a manuscript due and had to get it done. It also felt like he wanted to do an homage to Patricia Highsmith (that's clear from the very beginning: it's a Chekhov's Gun but Highsmith!) and maybe had to rush it. That may have affected my rating--you can't out-Highsmith Highsmith, and we all pale in comparison.
Three stars for being engaging, and for having >= 1 interesting character. Lost some points for having some very dull characters (boy, those sections dragged). The ending felt rushed and maybe even a little cheap, somehow, but I will say right now that I think my opinion about the ending is wrong and I'm just being petulant.
I will give another of Swanson's books a shot to see if I like it better. This one felt like he had a manuscript due and had to get it done. It also felt like he wanted to do an homage to Patricia Highsmith (that's clear from the very beginning: it's a Chekhov's Gun but Highsmith!) and maybe had to rush it. That may have affected my rating--you can't out-Highsmith Highsmith, and we all pale in comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Misogyny
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A man drinking at an airport bar meets a woman and they talk about killing his wife, she agrees to help. But why would she help him? Who is she? And will they go through with it?
While this is a twisty mystery thriller with multiple POVs, none of the main characters are particularly likable. And the men are quite misogynistic and obsessed with women and sex, it was like half the men's POVs were describing the woman's bodies sexually especially the breasts and how clothes fit them. I hope all men aren’t like these men on the inside! Even the women whose POVs you got weren't likable. Basically, all the MCs were trash human beings.
I only gave a high-ish rating because the overall plot was good even if the characters while detailed and complex, were unlikable, and the book had an overall misogyny to it.
While this is a twisty mystery thriller with multiple POVs, none of the main characters are particularly likable. And the men are quite misogynistic and obsessed with women and sex, it was like half the men's POVs were describing the woman's bodies sexually especially the breasts and how clothes fit them. I hope all men aren’t like these men on the inside! Even the women whose POVs you got weren't likable. Basically, all the MCs were trash human beings.
I only gave a high-ish rating because the overall plot was good even if the characters while detailed and complex, were unlikable, and the book had an overall misogyny to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Alcohol, Murder, Misogyny, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Cursing, Pedophilia, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content, Car accident, and Vomit
book_lover1028's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, and Animal death
hanlavi's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
jihyomilf's review against another edition
It would be well written if the way it was written (descriptions of women, overall misogyny, etc.) didn't give me a huge ick. I legitimately hated Ted, he was a total douchebag, but clearly I was supposed to sympathise with him. I liked Lily for a while, but then <spolier>she started talking about killing her boyfriend for chesting on her, which wasn't really justifiable at all. Also, the cover is literally dogshit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny
mmirjamm's review against another edition
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Excrement
kawaiiboke's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was super readable and hard to put down, but that being said it was overhyped which left me disappointed. I was expecting crazy twists but I predicted two major twists (something I’m not usually great at), and then I kept waiting for the real twists which didn’t happen. Lily was a really interesting character but someone pointed out in another reviews that none of POVs had distinctive voices, which is so true. If this is really the best of the thriller genre, maybe this genre isn’t for me!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
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