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meganrae047's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship
readwithjessj's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I already was bored by 60 pages in. I purely kept going to see how everything played out. It felt like a very typical plot and a very typical cast of unlikable characters that could all be out for one another. I actually didn't guess the ending, but it felt silly and like the author was grasping for a shocking plot twist. This was a very boring mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Pedophilia and Domestic abuse
houdini117's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Mental illness and Domestic abuse
mariahkindareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy
amobrien's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
This book ended up really surprising me, not only with the clever plot and ability to tie up all loose ends but also with the way it completely dragged me in. When I first started this book, I felt like I was just trying to push through it - the characters are so unlikeable and it seemed like it was setting itself up to be too predictable. I was definitely too quick to judge, and I'm very thankful I kept going. If you love mysteries that always have you second-guessing, this one's definitely for you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
blackcatkai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
CW: casual ableism, self-harm (on page), violence, death, blood, gun violence, mental illness, trauma, alcohol use, sex, slut/body shaming, domestic abuse, gaslighting/catfishing, misogyny, brief mentions of drug addiction and pedophilia (not graphic)
this was quite the ride with a bunch of twists & turns, especially in the end. love me a book with rich people drama, even if it's not the entire focus in a story. will definitely pick up more from Jayatissa in the future, this was so easy to get into.
this was quite the ride with a bunch of twists & turns, especially in the end. love me a book with rich people drama, even if it's not the entire focus in a story. will definitely pick up more from Jayatissa in the future, this was so easy to get into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Mental illness
Moderate: Misogyny, Alcohol, Sexism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Classism
Minor: Car accident, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Ableism
delphine_'s review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a strong 4 stars for me, a fun read with layers I didn’t expect and that just kept on coming. I was enraptured with the plot and really liked the writing. I was also lucky to be listening to the audiobook, and the narrators were incredible, I can’t give them enough praise.
The book goes back and forth between Amaya’s point of view of events over a few days, and the accounts of other characters who give their own perspective. It makes it really interesting and is a splendid set up for some really well engineered reveals and progression points.
And then there’s a third point of view that shifted my entire perspective on things and added so much context and was placed really smartly in the book. Absolutely delightful.
The morals of everybody involved are delightfully twisted and the book left me feeling like well- that was even more messed up than I thought. But in a good way. The layers of morality.
It was also a really fun projection into both Sri Lanka and the high society of that place. It really felt like I could place myself there, the world was really well brought to life.
My only gripe with the book- but it’s a pretty big gripe- is the laying it on thick about one of the characters. I think it could have been more subtle and the result of it was just a lot. I would have been sold just as effectively with less.
This is about Spencer: I was already down with hating him at the gold digging, the blackmail, and then EXTRA down at the abuse. Adding a layer of pedophilia, though it provided additional motive for Amaya, I thought was unneeded and just made him into a caricature of a villain. “Just add one more despicable thing just to be 100% sure”. Abhorrent, but just to sell us more this character hatred, which I was already sold to and now just felt queasy.
This is a bit sad as the book otherwise does a great job of depicting tense relationships, two-faced individuals, and a truly splendid job at describing how abuse is insidious and can destroy how you used to be. I loved that the security agent simply believed Amaya about the abuse, or at least let her talk. It’s important. .
Finally another gripe would be the little faux pas of implying an addict’s son would be an addict too. It’s also an extra way to make us hate this character, I suppose, but not a great way. The fact that a character was delivering drugs to him was a good way to start hinting at Spencer’s facade being just that, but I wished it didn’t turn into “he was an addict the whole time, he’s a bad person who even does cocaine.” Again doing a little too much with Spencer, but with added insensitivity imo.
All in all I liked this book a great deal and couldn’t stop listening, I am delighted to have spent time with this, and picked up another book by this author. Read the trigger warnings REALLY carefully, because they’re no joke. But if you’re good to go, then I could not recommend it enough.
The book goes back and forth between Amaya’s point of view of events over a few days, and the accounts of other characters who give their own perspective. It makes it really interesting and is a splendid set up for some really well engineered reveals and progression points.
The morals of everybody involved are delightfully twisted and the book left me feeling like well- that was even more messed up than I thought. But in a good way. The layers of morality.
It was also a really fun projection into both Sri Lanka and the high society of that place. It really felt like I could place myself there, the world was really well brought to life.
My only gripe with the book- but it’s a pretty big gripe- is the laying it on thick about one of the characters. I think it could have been more subtle and the result of it was just a lot. I would have been sold just as effectively with less.
This is a bit sad as the book otherwise does a great job of depicting tense relationships, two-faced individuals, and
Finally another gripe would be the little faux pas of implying
All in all I liked this book a great deal and couldn’t stop listening, I am delighted to have spent time with this, and picked up another book by this author. Read the trigger warnings REALLY carefully, because they’re no joke. But if you’re good to go, then I could not recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Self harm, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Car accident, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Blood
mdonn20's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Self harm
Minor: Child abuse
cassielaj's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I liked this until I didn’t… that’s the best way to explain it. It was definitely twisty and I wanted to know what happened, but there was no real sense of urgency or high-stakes situation, partly because I didn’t like the characters. I also thought that the book was reallyyyy front heavy, with a lot of time dedicated to the rising action and very little time spent on explaining the “big twists”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Self harm, Addiction, Murder, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Sexual violence
ellaensorcelee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm