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emily_mh's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was entertaining enough to be a three star read, and it was refreshing to see sapphic rep in a YA thriller in the MC Luca. Luca, along with most of the other characters, is unlikeable. But I didn’t find this to be a flaw as I honestly thought her behaviour was a realistic reaction to losing her sister in such a violent way as a teen. I also loved the OCD-coded rep in her character.
Unfortunately that’s where my good things to say about this book run out. Ultimately my major criticism comes down the the fact that if you’re going to use cold cases to draw a reader in, you should probably solve those cold cases in your book, especially if you’ve repeatedly made the point that they are connected with the current case. This was not what happened in this story. To be absolutely clear: the only murder that is solved by the end is Luca’ sister’s death. It was such a colossal disappointment and really undermined the quality of the book, as all it boiled down to was a really basic rich-town thriller.
I also think the third-person POV was jarring, because the narrative voice sounded like it should be first-person, if that makes sense. It really took me out of the book when I was expecting to read “I” or “we” or whatever, and it was “Luca” instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Mental illness, Cursing, Racism, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Vomit, Pregnancy, Gore, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Drug abuse, Classism, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Major: loss of a loved one Moderate: drowning Minor: missing loved one, menstruation, divorce
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