Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Το χέρι που κινεί τα νήματα

I usually don't read short stories but this was actually pretty good. Not very believable but the plot twists were clever and caught me off guard. Great read for halloween!

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tacochelle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

2.0

So first off, the blurb mentions that our mc does small scams as a so-called psychic. What it doesn't mention is that she is also a sex worker. Read palms in the front of the house, give handjobs in the back. It is relevant to the story, so I'm not sure why they would leave that out. I was still on board with the story for up to 2/3 of the way through, when you get the first big twist. I wasn't that impressed, but still interested to see how it would resolve. Then, immediately, a second twist! And then it fucking ends! It kinda killed all the good it had going before the twists. And on the one hand, it was short, so I didn't waste too much time on it. On the other hand, the ending could have been longer, and maybe feel like a complete ending.

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doomluz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-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

3.0

This was ok. It was really short. It could've been expanded.

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snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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jackbifrost's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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marthadude's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I half read this, half listened to the audiobook, and I think both formats are great. I think the general consensus is that the first 2/3's of the book are excellent, which they are. The protagonist and premise are both interesting, and the pacing is great for such a short book. Not to mention the elements of foreshadowing are masterful. However, the last half/ ending really brings down the rest of the book.

The first twist was shocking and well done, but, once there were a few contradictory twists proceeding the first, things got too convoluted. While I like the idea of a con artist taking on a protege but it wasn't well executed here.The ending was too abrupt, confusing, and was ambiguous but not in a fun way. The conclusion wasn't satisfying to me and felt like sort of a cop out. I wish she had just stuck to one of the twists.

I would say that the shortness of the book and the first two thirds really save it, but the ending made it drop from a 5 star to a 4 star.

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