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poodlemama99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rosed1977's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It captured my attention from page 1. I read the last 70% of it in one sitting. I couldn’t stop reading until it was finished. The ending was definitely not what I expected. Read this book!
tamracielle's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second disappointing Chris Bohjalian novel in a row for me, the first being Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. On the other hand, I loved the first two Bohjalian novels I read - Midwives, and Skeletons at the Feast. This story took what could have been a fascinating topic and really bogged it down in repetition, seemingly pointless conversations, and mundane bits of trivia that were irrelevant to the story. But as the narrator is an amateur magician, perhaps Mr. Bohjalian would just say he was engaging in a bit of misdirection. I have to give him credit, I did not guess the ending. It was a pretty good twist, enough to bump up my rating to 3.5 stars.
terraturtles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
pam2375's review against another edition
5.0
This was/is, once again, one of my favorite Chris Bohjalian's books. It is a wonderful mystery that kept me guessing all the way through.
I loved the beginning of each chapter in a Double Bindish sort of way to give you possible insight or clues to the mystery. I would like to think that I am very good at solving these mysteries, however, the reality is, I don't want to solve them. I want to be taken for a ride through the book and have the inner story revealed as the author has intended. Chris never disappoints in this area!
I took as long as I could to read this book. I was forcing myself to slow down, it was coming to the end that I did not want to face. I wanted to know, but I didn't want the story to continue.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for providing me with this advance readers copy.
I loved the beginning of each chapter in a Double Bindish sort of way to give you possible insight or clues to the mystery. I would like to think that I am very good at solving these mysteries, however, the reality is, I don't want to solve them. I want to be taken for a ride through the book and have the inner story revealed as the author has intended. Chris never disappoints in this area!
I took as long as I could to read this book. I was forcing myself to slow down, it was coming to the end that I did not want to face. I wanted to know, but I didn't want the story to continue.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for providing me with this advance readers copy.
dewey_scrapper's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book, because Chris Bohjalian is one of my favorites. I didn't really feel like I was invested in any of the characters. That said, though, I really enjoyed the ending, and never saw it coming.