Reviews

This gotta be the flattest mystery thriller in the history of mystery thrillers.
Even calling it a thriller is a stretch actually.

I’ve said It before but I’ll say it again: having multiple POVs is not gonna save a boring book from being boring. On the contrary, it makes the book extremely difficult to read and prevents the readers from connecting emotionally and ultimately carrying about any of the characters.
Authors need to FINALLY realize that and and put more energy on better writing. Until then, throw at least a disclaimer so the rest of us who are not enjoying this type of content could at least avoid it.
Just for reference tho, this has at least 11 POVs, I lost count after that. I still cannot understand why nobody said anything to Peter Swanson at the 3-4 POV mark, like "please consider a more clever way to present your vision because that is just not gonna work”.

So to sum up, the chapters are short and the POV is constantly changing. As a result, people are being killed off and you don’t even have an option, it’s just a passive event.
Then time and time again Agatha Christie and Then there were none gets mentioned and we get more inside information about the author and what he attempted to do than any of his characters and that’s never great.

All in all, no shocking factor, not fast paced, surface level characters, and zero twists.
Also the reasoning of it all made no sense but by that point I just wanted it to be over already so yeah whatever.

Thank you NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the digital ARC.

lindzeliza's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.5

pa259's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

amareenicole11's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

WOWZA. any Agatha Christie fans??? And Then There Were None??? GO READ THIS BOOK.

I seriously read this book in one setting. I absolutely couldn't put it down. So uniquely written with subtle and obvious nods to Christie books. I'm obsessed! I had so many theories and was still shocked. Every page was a whirlwind and it really just was a great read. There wasn't a single second that I wasn't intrigued. I loved every page.

Spoiler (kind of)

THE LAST CHAPTER OMGGGGG AHHHHH 😵

mjingram17's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book. I liked that it had short chapters which made it easy to get through. I also liked the nod to The Kind Worth Saving.

daniellearbour7's review against another edition

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3.0

The ending really saved this book for me. I wasn’t all in until the very end but, I’m glad I stuck with it!! Good twist!!

bjt1977's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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