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lavloveslit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Very well fleshed out characters for such a short book. Grateful to Hailey Hughes on YouTube for the rec! I knew I'd love it and did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Medical trauma
reasek's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Medical trauma, Murder, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
jamiee_f's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was wild! Our main character Martha is a former angel of death nurse, who has reinvented herself as a librarian. However. She's starting to crack under the mundanity of her now life. Then, a new librarian shows up, and Martha is enamored. The two orbit each other for a bit before the end up in the library bathroom together as a patron dies.
The book is told in alternating perspectives that give you deep insight into both Martha and Patricia, sharing memories and their perspective on shared events.
After the patron dies in the library, Patricia and Martha start to form a relationship. Martha reveals a little bit too much about her real back story, and Patricia is able to find out who she really is. However, Patricia has become obsessed with Martha, and is using her to break free of her writers block, writing a new novel focused on her imagined tales about Martha, so she's not saying anything to the cops or Martha.
the dead patron seems to trigger Martha. And she starts behaving erratically, eventually during a patron who regularly watches porn at the library to her apartment and killing him. This is her attempt to sate her desire for death that she has been suppressing for years now. However, because she is a crazy serial killer and also very delusional, she doesn't do a great job at covering up her crime, so the body is quickly discovered.
throughout all of this, Patricia's obsession with Martha deepens. It turns into a sort of psycho sexual obsession, writing about her, thinking of Martha during sex with her milquetoast boyfriend, wishing to spend time with her. Patricia is growing more twisted throughout this tale.
things culminate in Martha being asked to take leave, so she steals Patricia's notebook and reads it. She sees that Patricia has written stories about Martha that are eerily correct, given there's no way she could actually know those details. Martha taunts Patricia with the notebook and flees to the basement. Where she plans to kill her, burn the notebook, and start a fire to destroy the library. Patricia chases after her and confronts her, begging for the notebook back. In the climactic moment, Martha starts to burn the book, and tries to stab Patricia, but Patricia is faster. She has brought the letter opener from her desk and stabs Martha in the throat! She grabs her singed notebook back and walks away, leaving the fire to consume the library. She calmly cleans herself up, washes the letter opener. And returns to work. As the book ends and the library burns, Patricia is comforting the others just as Martha would have.
it's definitely implied that now Patricia is on a dark path like Martha's and I liked that. I didn't expect Patricia to kill Martha, given her timidity in other parts of the book, but it exemplified the influence of Martha and this obsessions impact on Patricia.
Generally I love books about Bad Women and this definitely fit the bill. I also enjoy books where two people get kind of sucked into each other's orbits and chaos ensues, so again. A good fit! Martha was a delightfully unhinged character and unreliable narrator, and watching Patricia's fall was satisfying.
The book is told in alternating perspectives that give you deep insight into both Martha and Patricia, sharing memories and their perspective on shared events.
Generally I love books about Bad Women and this definitely fit the bill. I also enjoy books where two people get kind of sucked into each other's orbits and chaos ensues, so again. A good fit! Martha was a delightfully unhinged character and unreliable narrator, and watching Patricia's fall was satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail
asporer22's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I quite enjoyed the premise for this book, but I also felt that it was quite long and drawn out. The main character, Margot, felt like she was talking about the same thing over and over again. I felt that as much detail as the author tried to put into these characters, they were still flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Torture, and Death of parent
missgrangerr's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Being a public librarian, this appealed to me quite a bit. I enjoyed the library anecdotes but story itself was lackluster. Ending felt extremely rushed and left me wanting something else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol and Addiction
kelseyr713's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.0
Entertaining read (especially since I used to work in a library), but I wished for a little more insight into both characters, especially as this is essentially a character study (the Margot chapters moreso) with some thriller trappings. Villain protagonist is always fun though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Stalking, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
starrfishandcoffee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a unique, creepy, horrifying experience this book was. This is certainly not your typical thriller; it is a much richer story, almost more of a character study.
Margo/Jane and Patricia are the two main characters and both narrate the story, often narrating the same scene in their own POV. There is a tense, obsessive, and almost erotic connection between the two women. The author brings fresh twist to the ‘cat and mouse’ theme you often find in a suspense/thriller novel. Highly recommend this wild tale.
Margo/Jane and Patricia are the two main characters and both narrate the story, often narrating the same scene in their own POV. There is a tense, obsessive, and almost erotic connection between the two women. The author brings fresh twist to the ‘cat and mouse’ theme you often find in a suspense/thriller novel. Highly recommend this wild tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
seawarrior's review against another edition
dark
3.0
This was a straightforward novel that never spiraled into madness the way that I'd hoped. Secrets were revealed too soon, personalities were never fully developed, and Sims played it too safe by adapting the true story of a historical serial killer into her lead character. The only highlight of the story for me was the accuracy regarding library work and the gulf between those who view it as an exile or a safe haven. Ultimately, this mystery is dry and disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Sexual content
anyashadows's review
dark
tense
medium-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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical trauma
vickimarie2002's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book really was so interesting and captivating until the end. It fell a little flat and felt rushed. The whole, killer nurse turned librarian, I really loved! And Patricia was a very interesting character as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Medical trauma