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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
This book really took my head for a spin. There was so much going on, yet at the same time it felt like nothing was. I’m not even sure what to think.
It started off strong; the premise seemed super interesting (the afterword made me appreciate it even more) and the writing in general is great, but just like with most thrillers I’ve read, a pacing issue really dragged it down. For a large portion of it I kept asking myself what is the point of this/when are we going to be let in on the mystery? I do think there were far too many POVs and too many different genres trying to be done. There’s a mix of thriller, crime, and body horror, but none were dedicated enough. We also spent a lot of time learning about each person and following minor moments in their storylines, so a lot of the story progression was hindered by that. We don’t get answers until the very end, which isn’t satisfactory enough for me. I prefer to get information as we go along to keep my interest, instead of a major reveal at the end. But I will have to say the last 80% was very good, which is why it gets a .5 star.
I would’ve liked more time with Oksana as well; her character is one of the most fascinating I’ve read.
Overall a cool story that could’ve done with a better execution, but I’m sure there are people out there who’d love this a lot more.
It started off strong; the premise seemed super interesting (the afterword made me appreciate it even more) and the writing in general is great, but just like with most thrillers I’ve read, a pacing issue really dragged it down. For a large portion of it I kept asking myself what is the point of this/when are we going to be let in on the mystery? I do think there were far too many POVs and too many different genres trying to be done. There’s a mix of thriller, crime, and body horror, but none were dedicated enough. We also spent a lot of time learning about each person and following minor moments in their storylines, so a lot of the story progression was hindered by that. We don’t get answers until the very end, which isn’t satisfactory enough for me. I prefer to get information as we go along to keep my interest, instead of a major reveal at the end. But I will have to say the last 80% was very good, which is why it gets a .5 star.
I would’ve liked more time with Oksana as well; her character is one of the most fascinating I’ve read.
Overall a cool story that could’ve done with a better execution, but I’m sure there are people out there who’d love this a lot more.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Calamitous, nostalgic, gruesome.
We open with a famous, exploitative podcaster chasing their latest story involving an artist and now mother with a tragic past from College days. We also get the POV of the detective that worked with the young artist to investigate a slew of murders, a down-on-their-luck crabber enraptured by an unconventional catch, and a mysterious exchange student from Ukraine.
🇺🇸 Set in various locales in mid-1990s Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, USA
🍂 Autumn/Thanksgiving time for the 90's parts
🐺🐕Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
🍂 Autumn/Thanksgiving time for the 90's parts
🐺🐕Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
👌All the POVs are third party objective, but combined we almost get omniscient feels where we know more than any one character. They all hold clues as to what is really happening...
🤔 Except the narrative, though told in typical novel form, is actually Megan's recollection of what happened as told to the podcaster. It isn't transcript/epistolary form, we get a full novel written with flash forwards to her interview with the podcaster who has access to the case notes from the detective that worked with her back when her former College friends started showing up brutally murdered. It adds an unreliable narrator energy that comes from another unreliable narrator.
🕵️ We get a semi-retired detective's POV, but there is no police procedural trope. Just him trying to figure out what is going on with support from his department and he gets wrapped up in the overall case in a fairly organic way.
🥴🤢 The creature feature elements could have been laughable if not written well. But they were. Sometimes I'd start off imagining it cartoonish, and as the paragraph progressed it became full body (or lack thereof) horrific.
🤞I want this to be a movie.
🤔 Except the narrative, though told in typical novel form, is actually Megan's recollection of what happened as told to the podcaster. It isn't transcript/epistolary form, we get a full novel written with flash forwards to her interview with the podcaster who has access to the case notes from the detective that worked with her back when her former College friends started showing up brutally murdered. It adds an unreliable narrator energy that comes from another unreliable narrator.
🕵️ We get a semi-retired detective's POV, but there is no police procedural trope. Just him trying to figure out what is going on with support from his department and he gets wrapped up in the overall case in a fairly organic way.
🥴🤢 The creature feature elements could have been laughable if not written well. But they were. Sometimes I'd start off imagining it cartoonish, and as the paragraph progressed it became full body (or lack thereof) horrific.
🤞I want this to be a movie.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Splattering of investigative and exploitative podcast journalism
- Mishmash of '90s true crime, dark cozy detective mystery, marine-hybrid creature feature, body horror, dark academia, unreliable narrator (memory loss), and amateur sleuthing with police and PI pal
- Slightly open-to-interpretation ending about who was telling the truth
- "I know what you did last decade" murder mystery/slasher
- Speculative creature feature horror with ecological and evolutionary biology sci-fi elements
- Hit of surreal action-adventure fight-for-their-lives escape from international assassins
- Touch of "monsters everywhere?" woven through the plot
Content Heads-Up: Body horror. Dog death (kind of done out of desperation like in the sacrifice/food realm. We don't know about the dog prior to the incident). Car accident (single-vehicle drunk driver). Fatal house fire (off page). Death of parents (off page).
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence
Minor: Animal death, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
tense
medium-paced
fast-paced