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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I love snowed in whodonits but this was not that great. It was hard to keep track of the guests at first but the setup was pretty good. After a while the book just felt slow not much was happening you just find out more about the guests and suspect them all of something but it drags on more without anything actually happening and k can’t even remember who the murderers were but I remember it was underwhelming. I was hoping for Agatha Christie or more like the Guest List but I didn’t get that.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
💭Стиль дійсно схожий на Аґату Крісті – класичний детектив
Було цікаво, читалося легко. Вбивцю почала підозрювати на моменті спільної ночівлі біля каміну, а більше точно викрила на допиті, єдине не розуміла мотив. Ще дивним мені видавалося при виявленні тіла, постійне бажання виміряти пульс, тільки тоді я ще не склала 2+2
На один раз цікаво й дуже атмосферно
Було цікаво, читалося легко. Вбивцю почала підозрювати на моменті спільної ночівлі біля каміну, а більше точно викрила на допиті, єдине не розуміла мотив. Ще дивним мені видавалося при виявленні тіла, постійне бажання виміряти пульс, тільки тоді я ще не склала 2+2
На один раз цікаво й дуже атмосферно
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fun, easy reading. I liked how it didn’t drag on or lean into melodrama.
Energy: Guarded. Stoic. Secretive.
🐕 Howls: The police investigation part when all the characters retold what happened dragged and was boring since we had just read about a lot of it. It also delayed finding out who did it, which was frustrating. Some subplots were left unresolved (not a big deal, but I’m curious).
🐩 Tail Wags: Got right to the point and kept the story moving. Kept things interesting and easy to follow despite the large cast. Fast-pacing. The tension from cheering for some characters and disliking others.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Catskills, NY, USA
Perspectives (multiple): We shift between various viewpoints, including a journalist friend with traumatic flashbacks from war reporting; a lone criminal attorney; a young, seemingly in love couple; an older couple with conflicted relationship dynamics; a young, wealthy engaged couple; an older non-fiction author writing fiction; the hotel owner and chef; and their adult child working at the family business.
Timeline: 2010s. Linear 🥶 Winter storm.
Narrative: Invisible in the room, being told a story, observing from afar, armchair sleuthing (third person omniscient)
Fuel: The murders (or are they?) and the mystery of who the characters are, why they’re here, and what each of them is capable of. How they’ll survive and co-exist in isolation while the snow storm rages on.
Cred: Plausible
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Wood fire. Coffee. Grand staircase. Lobby. Dining area. Woodshed. Icy lawn.
- Detached, direct, minimalist writing style
- Questionable, sympathetic, mean, and troubled characters
- Adversity, confessions, conflict, fear, helplessness
- Marriage on the rocks, complicated friendships, reluctant romance
- Who-to-trust whodunit and whydunit
- Fast-paced, plot-driven closed circle murder mysteries
- Trapped together winter retreat gone wrong
- Isolated by weather, no tech
- Everyone’s a suspect
- Bits of police investigation
Content Heads-Up: Alcohol (recreational, stress drinking). Corpse (discovery, proximity to; on page). Death. Dementia (elderly parent, caregiving; mention). Gang rape (witnessed; memory off page). Generalized anxiety, PTSD symptoms (war). Homicidal urges. Loss of romantic partner. Loss of sibling. Marriage breakdown. Murder. Parental abandonment, foster care (memory). Psychopathy.
Rep: American. Cis. Hetero. Lesbian. Pale and ambiguous skin tones.
📚 Format: Paperback
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Dementia, Abandonment, War
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Really good twist! I loved how much this book was set up like a modern day Clue. Highly recommend for an exciting, quick read!
Yet another popcorn thriller from Shari Lapena. Really enjoyed the setting of this one, especially as its cold while reading this but got the twists super early again. Didn't change the reading experience too much and was still an entertaining, one sitting read!
I have read The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena and although I enjoyed her writing, I wasn’t hooked on the story.
.
Then I gave An Unwanted Guest a go, I read this beautiful hardcover over the week of the thrillerathon readathon held over on Instagram.
.
An Unwanted Guest is based in a beautiful hotel in winter, there’s only a handful of people staying at the hotel as the weather has gotten so bad that the other guests have cancelled. We get to know each of the characters a little bit before one of the guests end up dead in the middle of the night.. the guest is found at the bottom of the stairs and what looks like a fall on closer inspection ends up looking like she has been murdered...
.
Everyone thinks they know who did it but then when another guest end up dead and the links don’t make sense anymore, everybody becomes a suspect.
.
The atmosphere of this book right from the start was amazing! I felt so cozy and I was sat comfortably waiting for the guessing to begin.
.
I will say I guessed the killer from the start, which usually puts me off a book.. if I can guess it then what’s the point! But the entertainment factor was there, I had so much fun and there was a little added twist right at the end that I didn’t expect.
.
This is your typical, fun, easy, murder mystery novel and I would definitely recommend it!
.
Then I gave An Unwanted Guest a go, I read this beautiful hardcover over the week of the thrillerathon readathon held over on Instagram.
.
An Unwanted Guest is based in a beautiful hotel in winter, there’s only a handful of people staying at the hotel as the weather has gotten so bad that the other guests have cancelled. We get to know each of the characters a little bit before one of the guests end up dead in the middle of the night.. the guest is found at the bottom of the stairs and what looks like a fall on closer inspection ends up looking like she has been murdered...
.
Everyone thinks they know who did it but then when another guest end up dead and the links don’t make sense anymore, everybody becomes a suspect.
.
The atmosphere of this book right from the start was amazing! I felt so cozy and I was sat comfortably waiting for the guessing to begin.
.
I will say I guessed the killer from the start, which usually puts me off a book.. if I can guess it then what’s the point! But the entertainment factor was there, I had so much fun and there was a little added twist right at the end that I didn’t expect.
.
This is your typical, fun, easy, murder mystery novel and I would definitely recommend it!
This was a great book to read during recovery from surgery. Fast-paced, locked-door mystery. I figured out who it was early on, but I never did figure out the connection/motive.