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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
I come to expect an unreliable narrator in Alex Michaelides books so honestly I think I saw through alot of these twists. But I will say he still managed to surprise me with some of them! A fun read with interesting but somewhat predictable and trope-y characters.
This was fine but felt REALLY slow. There was too much explanation of what was happening.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not really love this book. Too much dangling of what we all wanted to know, too much going back with the “oh, I left this all out” or “that’s how I wish it went, but alas…” Oh, and the narrator is a true psychopath stalker that I can’t sympathize with? That also hurt my enjoyment of the book. I can see how some people might enjoy the mystery aspect, but it was not for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this latest Michaelides. I anticipated a few twists - which were provided - but I didn't anticipate just how much this was reliant on the concept of the unreliable narrator. At a certain point in the book, you begin asking yourself: wait, who is the architect of this story/play, and who is the audience? Which characters are antagonists or protagonists? You'll be trying to solve those questions until the end. As with all unreliable narratives, it will keep you guessing.
Note: I listened to this audiobook, and Alex Jennings was the narrator! My god, he was marvelous. Brilliant voice acting.
Note: I listened to this audiobook, and Alex Jennings was the narrator! My god, he was marvelous. Brilliant voice acting.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒔, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝑰 𝒂𝒎.”
If the male loneliness epidemic was written about in an Agatha Christie fashion, that sums up this book. I knew from the beginning that Elliot, as he says so himself, is an unreliable narrator. However, I didn’t expect just how much of an unreliable narrator he was going to turn out to be. Just when I thought I understood what was happening and that things were going to turn out in a predictable way, something shifts and completely takes on a new route. Alex Michaelides does a wonderful job making the reader sympathize for somebody that we know is unreliable and has a more sinister side to them that they slowly reveal to us. We’re constantly questioning if the person can truly be capable of what they insinuate. Though a little slow at times, I enjoyed every twist and turn along with the rollercoaster of thoughts and emotions pertaining to Elliot. If you’re in need of a good murder mystery set on a secluded island with a troubled and bruised group then this one is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Stalking, Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just keep trying to like this author because I loved the tie to Greek mythology and his knack for writings endings that actually do surprise me. However, I’m just not loving this writing enough. This may be the last one for me.
While I love an untreliable narrator, which this this author writes well in a thriller format, I just find that the characters are unrelated or unlikeable each time. This read felt particularly slow to me compared to some of his others. Often I find that the ending of his books surprised me so much that I end up increasing the rating for the overall book just for that, but in this case, the ending didn’t save the middle for me. It certainly wasn’t a terrible book, I just want more intrigue and faster pace and for it to be more memorable when I finish.
Overall I think this author is a good writer and I can see how his books are popular with others. While there are things that I wish were different in the pacing and level of thrill, the structure and style of writing is well done. I simply just don’t think they are exactly what I am looking for for myself.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
While I love an untreliable narrator, which this this author writes well in a thriller format, I just find that the characters are unrelated or unlikeable each time. This read felt particularly slow to me compared to some of his others. Often I find that the ending of his books surprised me so much that I end up increasing the rating for the overall book just for that, but in this case, the ending didn’t save the middle for me. It certainly wasn’t a terrible book, I just want more intrigue and faster pace and for it to be more memorable when I finish.
Overall I think this author is a good writer and I can see how his books are popular with others. While there are things that I wish were different in the pacing and level of thrill, the structure and style of writing is well done. I simply just don’t think they are exactly what I am looking for for myself.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book.