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phillysaurus's review against another edition
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? No
3.0
namikeii's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
qofdnz's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad I don't base my decisions to read a book based on others reviews. I enjoyed the build up of suspense in this novel. It moved along rapidly enough and towards the end I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Hannah is a good writer. Clearly not for everyone but I like her style.
somanybooksineedmoretime's review against another edition
2.0
Method: audiobook
Rating: 2/5 stars
Drama: 3/5
Thoughts: Tooo much fluff in this book.
em_beddedinbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Just loved this dark, intriguing psychological thriller. Learnt much about narcissistic personality disorder and emotional incest. I knew about physical incest, but never knew of the emotional counterpart. I read about it and was horrified to know that most parents practice it at one level or other, and if its too much it makes an emotional cripple out of your child. I loved the story part. Till the end, though there were subtle clues, I couldn't fathom why the characters acted out like they did. All in all, a wonderful book, perhaps the best of Sophie Hannah I've ever read so far. The first few pages were really difficult (like all her books), but when I started understanding the story I was hooked.
A must for all 'psycho' lovers.
A must for all 'psycho' lovers.
mrsreads1's review against another edition
4.0
"There's nothing most of us love more than a plausible lie."
Amber Hewerdine can't sleep. She has suffered chronic insomnia since the death of her best friend in a mysterious house fire over a year ago. As a last resort, she decides to see a hypnotherapist for treatment and leaves in a hurry, disturbed by a phrase she utters while hypnotized - a phrase she at first assumes the therapist spoke first, but later realizes she has seen before. Soon after, Amber is arrested for the murder of a woman, and cannot clear her name until she remembers where she saw those words.
As with the previous novels in this series, Hannah focuses on developing her characters, allowing the reader to get inside their minds and fully understand their motivations, which in turn drives the plot. This results in a slightly meandering plot which can sometimes be confusing, but ultimately makes for a more compelling story (and series), since the reader never feels short-changed by having unanswered questions at the end. I especially enjoyed the insights of Amber's hypnotherapist, Ginny - they provided an interesting insight into Amber's memory and sleep issues, as well as occasionally bringing up a chilling question or observation that, on more than one occasion, led to an "aha!" moment for me in terms of the "whodunit" aspect of the plot. It was an interesting twist on the "unreliable narrator" idea, since Amber's memory is frequently not trustworthy, and her understanding of her motivations are frequently muddied by her biases regarding her current situation.
The fun in reading this novel, as well as the previous installments in the series, is following Simon Waterhouse as he follows a trail of disconnected clues to put together an incredible story to explain the novels central crime. Also, we get to spend some time with other less developed characters, including his unit chief, Sam, and his coworker, Gibbs. We also see what Charlie and Simon are like as a married couple, and get a peek into Charlie's sister Oliva's life.
As with all of Hannah's novels, the plot is twisting and dark, and sometimes feels convoluted. I enjoy this aspect - I've never yet been able to predict an outcome in one of her novels, not because they're not plausible, but because - like in a real investigation - there's a tremendous amount of information evidence to sift through before reaching the truth. For readers that might find these novels confusing, I would recommend reading them in several large sittings if at all possible. These are not books to read casually over the course of several weeks. Overall, this was a great installment in the series and I highly recommend it to fans of Hannah's, and I can't wait to read the next.
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.)
Amber Hewerdine can't sleep. She has suffered chronic insomnia since the death of her best friend in a mysterious house fire over a year ago. As a last resort, she decides to see a hypnotherapist for treatment and leaves in a hurry, disturbed by a phrase she utters while hypnotized - a phrase she at first assumes the therapist spoke first, but later realizes she has seen before. Soon after, Amber is arrested for the murder of a woman, and cannot clear her name until she remembers where she saw those words.
As with the previous novels in this series, Hannah focuses on developing her characters, allowing the reader to get inside their minds and fully understand their motivations, which in turn drives the plot. This results in a slightly meandering plot which can sometimes be confusing, but ultimately makes for a more compelling story (and series), since the reader never feels short-changed by having unanswered questions at the end. I especially enjoyed the insights of Amber's hypnotherapist, Ginny - they provided an interesting insight into Amber's memory and sleep issues, as well as occasionally bringing up a chilling question or observation that, on more than one occasion, led to an "aha!" moment for me in terms of the "whodunit" aspect of the plot. It was an interesting twist on the "unreliable narrator" idea, since Amber's memory is frequently not trustworthy, and her understanding of her motivations are frequently muddied by her biases regarding her current situation.
The fun in reading this novel, as well as the previous installments in the series, is following Simon Waterhouse as he follows a trail of disconnected clues to put together an incredible story to explain the novels central crime. Also, we get to spend some time with other less developed characters, including his unit chief, Sam, and his coworker, Gibbs. We also see what Charlie and Simon are like as a married couple, and get a peek into Charlie's sister Oliva's life.
As with all of Hannah's novels, the plot is twisting and dark, and sometimes feels convoluted. I enjoy this aspect - I've never yet been able to predict an outcome in one of her novels, not because they're not plausible, but because - like in a real investigation - there's a tremendous amount of information evidence to sift through before reaching the truth. For readers that might find these novels confusing, I would recommend reading them in several large sittings if at all possible. These are not books to read casually over the course of several weeks. Overall, this was a great installment in the series and I highly recommend it to fans of Hannah's, and I can't wait to read the next.
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.)
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
1.0
The book starts with insomniac Amber visiting a hypnotherapist to try to find some relief from the lack of sleep. During her session she says the phrase kind, cruel, kind of cruel”, which just happens to be a key piece in a murder inquiry. Amber has no idea what it is all about and neither does anybody else either. The book meanders on and about half way through I gave up and skipped to the end just to see what happened. The characters, setting and mystery just didn’t engage me. The reveal was actually who I suspected, because it was really the only “mysterious/normal” character, if that is a thing, but the reasoning was extremely convoluted.
katemixon1117's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I just read a book of hypnosis and the human psyche, not a murder mystery. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it made me think critically, there were some parts that I felt were either unnecessary or just took up too many pages. It really picked up pace towards the end, but then the climax turned out to be no climax at all, which I found disappointing. There was little action and it was mostly just delving into the human brain. But it was still very interesting, and and I will most likely read one of Hannah's books in the near future.
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(Snix are you satisfied with this review?)
lizzie_evans's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't enjoy this Sophie Hannah book as much as her others, it was more predictable and less of a page turner.
I liked the fact Simon and Charlie were much more subtly intertwined and there was less in this book of the other detectives.