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sarahmcgurren13's review against another edition
3.0
This book was just o.k. to me. It was fast paced, and there were times where I wanted to read ahead, but if definitely took a while for me to get started. I was constant wondering “is this woman really just seeing things or did it actually happen?”. In hindsight, it was kind of predictable, but there was a fun twist in the end. The innocent teenage neighbor who lives in the house where the woman is murdered is actually the killer and has a personality disorder.
I am still unsure how I feel about the approach the author took towards mental health issues. The main character’s agoraphobia was kind of seen as psychotic, scary, and crazy, although the author tried to normalize it for the general public by explaining the reasoning behind the character’s illness.
I am still unsure how I feel about the approach the author took towards mental health issues. The main character’s agoraphobia was kind of seen as psychotic, scary, and crazy, although the author tried to normalize it for the general public by explaining the reasoning behind the character’s illness.
haapalaiida's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meenabeena's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ecp2115's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
layemi's review against another edition
4.0
A good story, I was engrossed till the end, but the ending seemed a tiny bit of a let down.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
4.0
**3.5 stars**
Right off the bat, I have to say that I don't have a lot of patience for the surprisingly prevalent murder-mystery trope of the Alcoholic Narrator; psychopaths, murder, and tragedy can all be compelling without anyone being drunk all the damn time. (I had this problem with Girl on the Train and Sharp Objects, and I had it again here.)
That being said, I did enjoy this book otherwise. I thought the pace was exceptional, both the writing and the format (larger dated sections with internal chapters, general short chapter length in a generally long book, etc.). I also thought the PTSD agoraphobia was an interesting trait to give the narrator and one that I haven't seen too often in books. I liked the realness of many of the relationships.
I will say that I did predict a couple of the "big twists" before they happened. Like, hundreds of pages before they happened. Honestly, I think that's my main problem with the "drunk narrator" trope: even though everyone is denying that the drunk narrator saw anything, clearly she must have because otherwise there would be no story. "Hey I think I saw something happen." "No that couldn't have possibly happened." "Oh ok I must have been hallucinating." ~reevaluates medication dosages and joins alcoholics anonymous~ "Great! I was just mixing up too strong of a medical cocktail, but I'm fine now!"
Anyway. Overall, I liked it. I think it would be a good book to read in a book club to discuss what people thought of the big reveal.
Right off the bat, I have to say that I don't have a lot of patience for the surprisingly prevalent murder-mystery trope of the Alcoholic Narrator; psychopaths, murder, and tragedy can all be compelling without anyone being drunk all the damn time. (I had this problem with Girl on the Train and Sharp Objects, and I had it again here.)
That being said, I did enjoy this book otherwise. I thought the pace was exceptional, both the writing and the format (larger dated sections with internal chapters, general short chapter length in a generally long book, etc.). I also thought the PTSD agoraphobia was an interesting trait to give the narrator and one that I haven't seen too often in books. I liked the realness of many of the relationships.
I will say that I did predict a couple of the "big twists" before they happened. Like, hundreds of pages before they happened.
Spoiler
I think this one in particular may have been purposely easy to spot, but it felt fishy from very early on that Ed and Livvy were still alive. There were too many comments about "rarely hearing the phone ring" and what not that made me very suspicious from early in the book. Please let me know if you think that was one that people were supposed to catch so that the overall finale was supposed to be an even bigger shock.Anyway. Overall, I liked it. I think it would be a good book to read in a book club to discuss what people thought of the big reveal.
vs9001's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Confinement
ver_phd21's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0