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sarahschuster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nusta's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
richyhall's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kassadyecarroll's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ddrosche's review against another edition
5.0
Yes! Reading this book was like being in a classic slasher movie from the 80s/90s. Super fast paced and a fun read I thoroughly enjoyed every page. Despite knowing the killer and the motive and the plot from the get go, there are still a few surprises and twists, especially toward the end. Savage does an excellent job of switching between multiple POVs going on concurrently as well as switching between past and present. From beginning to end this felt like the perfect movie. Just enough drama, whodunit, action, gore, and suspense all wrapped up with a great epilogue to end it. Yes!
clds86's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. My. Lanta. I never should have decided to read this before bed, as now it's almost 1:30, and it's going to take me a while to calm down from the adrenaline rush. I thought I had the murder pegged halfway through, but - and excuse the pun - I was dead wrong. If you like mysteries, especially thrillers, Tom Savage is your guy. My hat's off to you, sir.
tarainez's review against another edition
3.0
I think I’ll give this one a 3 star. This was fine. I didn’t feel like it was anything super spectacular, but it kept my attention. I got this book, because I knew there was a movie based on it. I haven’t seen the movie, but from what I’ve heard, it’s a early 00s slasher, so I was expecting more gore I guess. There were definitely kills and some brutality, but that wasn’t the main focus, and that kind of bummed me out.
I guess I read too many thrillers, because I suspected the killer/stalker, but I was wondering how all of the pieces fit together. I didn’t predict the other twist at the end, which allowed for the pieces to fall in place. I think the most terrifying thing is the stalking, and this sort of thing really happens to people. I do feel like there were some missed opportunities; I feel like more people could’ve died, and I also feel like the creepiness of getting these “trinkets” from Valentine could’ve been scarier. He sent “gifts” but the stakes could’ve been raised on what exactly he sent.
This also very obviously takes place in the 90s; it is mentioned only once that it’s in that decade, but the book felt like a relic of its time. One thing that did bother me: there are specific dates in this book but not an exact year listed. I looked at a calendar and determined what year I thought this might’ve taken place. However, leap year is mentioned as having taken place 16 years before, and that did not match up with the year I thought this could’ve taken place. It isn’t that hard to either get calendar dates correct or to not put specific days of the week beside the date.
Overall, this might be a fun read if you’re looking to watch the movie and make comparisons like I am. I’m not mad I read it, just don’t think I’ll revisit it again.
I guess I read too many thrillers, because I suspected the killer/stalker, but I was wondering how all of the pieces fit together. I didn’t predict the other twist at the end, which allowed for the pieces to fall in place. I think the most terrifying thing is the stalking, and this sort of thing really happens to people. I do feel like there were some missed opportunities; I feel like more people could’ve died, and I also feel like the creepiness of getting these “trinkets” from Valentine could’ve been scarier. He sent “gifts” but the stakes could’ve been raised on what exactly he sent.
This also very obviously takes place in the 90s; it is mentioned only once that it’s in that decade, but the book felt like a relic of its time. One thing that did bother me: there are specific dates in this book but not an exact year listed. I looked at a calendar and determined what year I thought this might’ve taken place. However, leap year is mentioned as having taken place 16 years before, and that did not match up with the year I thought this could’ve taken place. It isn’t that hard to either get calendar dates correct or to not put specific days of the week beside the date.
Overall, this might be a fun read if you’re looking to watch the movie and make comparisons like I am. I’m not mad I read it, just don’t think I’ll revisit it again.
dnemec's review against another edition
4.0
Having a difficult time how the book translates into the movie, but that didn't detract from the fact that this was a good twisty story.
oculus74's review
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5