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rsohail's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Violence, Medical content, Homophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders
renpuspita's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Quiet in Her Bones is the first time I read book by Nalini Singh that written from 1st PoV and male MC at that. Definitely out of her usual books since I'm a fans of her Guild Hunter series, follow Psy-Changeling series (need to do a complete reread since I stop in Kaleb's book) and try to read her Rockstar series but found it is not to my liking. Quiet in Her Bones also her first thriller book that I try to read.
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions.
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Drug abuse, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Cancer
lilifane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soooo, how do I bribe Nalini Singh to stop writing Romance and focus on Thrillers? Because I really need more of this.
It seemed so simple and straight forward at the beginning and developed into this huge, confusing mess, and I loved every bit of it. I kept guessing, and I kept second-guessing, and for me the conclusion was really satisfying. It is a very slow-paced book with a huge cast of characters, but the writing was so good, it kept me hooked until the very last page. Loved the diversity and the setting in New Zealand, specifically in this secluded rich people neighborhood where everyone is keeping secrets. The interactions between the neighbors gave me life, and the protagonist was... something!
It's probably too much to ask for a mini series adaptation? It's just so many of those scenes were SO vivid, I could practically see them played out in my head.
It seemed so simple and straight forward at the beginning and developed into this huge, confusing mess, and I loved every bit of it. I kept guessing, and I kept second-guessing, and for me the conclusion was really satisfying. It is a very slow-paced book with a huge cast of characters, but the writing was so good, it kept me hooked until the very last page. Loved the diversity and the setting in New Zealand, specifically in this secluded rich people neighborhood where everyone is keeping secrets. The interactions between the neighbors gave me life, and the protagonist was... something!
It's probably too much to ask for a mini series adaptation? It's just so many of those scenes were SO vivid, I could practically see them played out in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Dementia, Drug use, and Homophobia
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Cancer
girlonbooks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🍬🍬🍬🍬 (four stars as rated in Aarav’s exceptionally addictive stash of sweets)
It’s been ten years since Nina Rai disappeared with a quarter of a million dollars. Generally assumed to have fled her former life willingly, Nina and her disappearance have all but faded from the rumor mill of the close-knit cul-de-sac where she once lived. But when Nina’s remains are discovered only a short distance from her home, everything changes. With only a handful of neighbors that could have been responsible for her death, Nina’s murder uproots secrets about more than just her and the Rai family. Her son, Aarav, is determined to discover who murdered his mother, but having recently suffered brain damage from a nearly fatal car accident, his account of his mother’s last night alive is far from reliable. Still, he is willing to face every one of his demons to get to the truth. Even the ones his family would prefer never saw the light of day…
Ten years was a long time… For everyone to forget that Nina Parvati Rai had been a living, breathing woman who’d loved music and cooking and had a mind like a computer.
In another life she could have been a professor.
In this life she’d been a rich man’s wife.
Now she was just bones.
This book spoke to me the minute I saw that deliciously sinister looking cover. I’m adding Quiet In Her Bones to my list of rainy day recommendations because this is exactly the type of book with which one really ought to cozy up on the couch with a cuppa. I loved that the neighborhood in which the Rai family lives is so thoroughly multi-cultural and diverse; and not in a way that feels forced or “for show.” Nalini Singh really raises the bar when it comes to writing about a variety of races, sexual orientations and life experiences without leaning on tropes or stereotypes. I’ll be adding some of her other work to my TBR right away. Also, considering that she (according to her website) especially loves writing romance, I am blown away at how well she pulled of the mystery of this story. I really did not put the pieces together until just at the end. And the unreliable narrator bits were fun for me to try and sort through.
✨ Rep in this book: Indian protagonist, diverse community of side characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and Body shaming
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia
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