Scan barcode
jrosebartoli415's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Suicide
noelliem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, and Child death
hey_abijo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Gun violence
Minor: Blood and Alcohol
honey_coated_chapters's review
5.0
𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4/5
𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 352
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: mystery/crime
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆: revenge plots served extra hot and loose ends.
———————————————————————
This hooked me in from the first chapter. There’s alternating POVs per chapter (3-4 POVs in total) and each one ended on a cliffhanger that just had me at the edge of my seat. The twists and connections are honestly riveting, this author may be up there with Alice Feeney for best twists. But, I also didn’t totally mind it because the story was still put together neatly. The “swapping murders” premise was such a thrilling concept, I know it’s not entirely original but the execution was near perfect. The way our characters describe their thought process along with their motives, it honestly hard to put down. I liked the detail that went in to each of their chapters, it’s not totally gory but there is descriptions of crime scenes that provide just enough information to give you some chills but not too much to where you’re turned off entirely. There’s a crime aspect that I appreciated while we were able to see how another character (detective) makes his connections. I will say that I had to suspend my belief just a little bit — some parts are over the top, I didn’t mind but it’s worth mentioning if you like your thrillers true to life. Aside from that, 4 stars is just for my own selfishness because we don’t get answers! We don’t know why certain ~things~ happened.
🧸
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
alimdaniels's review
- 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
3.75
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Rape, and Child death
kimveach's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Stalking, Medical trauma, Death, Infertility, Sexual assault, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
kaydot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
curiousqueenb's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
the_boozy_baking_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
Think Strangers on a Train - two complete strangers meet and both have someone they’d like to kill but can’t because they would be the obvious suspect. So obviously they agree to murder for each other.
Except this one is WAY more than just that - I don’t even know how to review it except that it shows that monsters can be anywhere and everywhere and can be created at any time.
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
astoriareader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
- Two women, Amanda & Naomi, have lost everything, and they’re at rock bottom. They meet in a grief support group. After sharing drinks, they make a pact to get revenge for the other. Hence, the title of the book.
- A version of Patricia Highsmith’s book “Strangers on a Train” (or Hitchock’s movie adaptation of it).
- Gripping + suspenseful
- Hard to put down
- Short, digestible chapters
- Good pacing
- Multiple POVS (Amanda, Detective Farrow, Ruth/victim of assault, & Scott/Ruth’s husband)
- Lots of twists
- I personally thought the ending was one twist too many, and I wasn’t a fan of it. However, it didn’t ruin the story for me. I still enjoyed the book a lot.
- Enjoyed Cavanaugh’s writing style. It flowed nicely & was easy to read. Excellent storytelling & weaving together multiple perspectives and plots.
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Child death