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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book felt like it moved really slow until the very end… but then there wasn’t really an ending? Too many twists thrown in just for the sake of it. Too many characters without taking enough time to flesh them out. I thought the premise was interesting and it kept me intrigued but wouldn’t recommend.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book felt like a mash up of different crime covered on the crime junkies podcast, like Jonbenet Ramsey's. I enjoyed the fast pace but the author seemed to want to throw in as many twists and turns as possible. I didnt like the ending.
dark
mysterious
tense
it was so good i didn’t want to put it down at all. but yes the ending was a bit rushed with elliot wallace stuff but the ending was very good a wonderful twist and i love how we thought it would end in a neat little bow but it didn’t and we got a nice jagged edge i loved the epilogue such an engaging book with a wonderful twist at the end.
I really wanted to rate this higher but...it just was a letdown.
I didn't have high hopes after reading reviews but I figured I'd give it a try. It was a really quick listen - one day. So it had that going for it. And some twists were good - Krissy falling in love with Jodie, Billy knocking January down the stairs because he thought it was Krissy but then actually killing her because she was going to tell - wasn't his.
But nothing really wowed me. It felt like thriller cliche after thriller cliche and I just got bored. And the ending - with Margot being attacked by Billy because he knows she knows but us not being told if she survived was dumb as hell.
I'm sorry but a polarizing non-ending like that in a debut is just stupid.
Also, I truly don't understand how, once we knew January had been found at the bottom of the stairs, NO ONE was like "maybe the six-year old fell"? When Jase told his story, Margot was like "hmmm so then who DID kill her?" Maybe no one? Would that not be your first thought? If you're not just trying to make connections between things?
I wish there had been some evidence that Margot was a potential target of Elliot Wallace's. Instead we just got Margot going "oh my god. We were the same age and lived near each other. I was almost the victim." No...you weren't.
And then when she sees the baby blanket and just goes "obviously someone who loved her killed her" when, like, it could've just been in her hands when she was killed?
The smoking guns and conclusions just came out of nowhere.
Also the things Krissy wrote on the wall didn't even make sense for the trail she wanted the police to go down. Just why? Because drama.
The stuff with Luke had me so sad and him being January and Jase's dad seemed clear when Margot found the picture (though I didn't pick up on the shortened last name nickname - that was good). The scene of January dying broke my heart too.
But all of it just fell so flat and felt so scattered and then just ended. I was not impressed.
Plus all the comparisons people are making to Jon Benet Ramsey in reviews makes me feel weird. I'm not that familiar with that case but something about writing a thriller clearly based on a real crime and not acknowledging that feels icky. The ethics of true crime always do.
All in all...fine.
Oh also also - it's not THE Heart of Darkness. Just Heart of Darkness. It hit my Lit Major nerve lol
I didn't have high hopes after reading reviews but I figured I'd give it a try. It was a really quick listen - one day. So it had that going for it. And some twists were good - Krissy falling in love with Jodie, Billy knocking January down the stairs because he thought it was Krissy but then actually killing her because she was going to tell - wasn't his.
But nothing really wowed me. It felt like thriller cliche after thriller cliche and I just got bored. And the ending - with Margot being attacked by Billy because he knows she knows but us not being told if she survived was dumb as hell.
I'm sorry but a polarizing non-ending like that in a debut is just stupid.
Also, I truly don't understand how, once we knew January had been found at the bottom of the stairs, NO ONE was like "maybe the six-year old fell"? When Jase told his story, Margot was like "hmmm so then who DID kill her?" Maybe no one? Would that not be your first thought? If you're not just trying to make connections between things?
I wish there had been some evidence that Margot was a potential target of Elliot Wallace's. Instead we just got Margot going "oh my god. We were the same age and lived near each other. I was almost the victim." No...you weren't.
And then when she sees the baby blanket and just goes "obviously someone who loved her killed her" when, like, it could've just been in her hands when she was killed?
The smoking guns and conclusions just came out of nowhere.
Also the things Krissy wrote on the wall didn't even make sense for the trail she wanted the police to go down. Just why? Because drama.
The stuff with Luke had me so sad and him being January and Jase's dad seemed clear when Margot found the picture (though I didn't pick up on the shortened last name nickname - that was good). The scene of January dying broke my heart too.
But all of it just fell so flat and felt so scattered and then just ended. I was not impressed.
Plus all the comparisons people are making to Jon Benet Ramsey in reviews makes me feel weird. I'm not that familiar with that case but something about writing a thriller clearly based on a real crime and not acknowledging that feels icky. The ethics of true crime always do.
All in all...fine.
Oh also also - it's not THE Heart of Darkness. Just Heart of Darkness. It hit my Lit Major nerve lol
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes