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judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
Amy Engel returns following [b:The Familiar Dark|52659062|The Familiar Dark|Amy Engel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566831575l/52659062._SX50_SY75_.jpg|69295658] and [b:The Roanoke Girls|33015034|The Roanoke Girls|Amy Engel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479589097l/33015034._SY75_.jpg|51235136] with her latest, I DID IT FOR YOU, a gripping tale exploring guilt, loss, trauma, and the many ways in which a violent murder transforms the family of the victims and the killer's family.
Greer Dunning returns to her rural hometown of Ludlow, Kansas, from Chicago after the execution of the man, Roy Matthews, who murdered her sister, Eliza, and her boyfriend, Travis, fourteen years ago while making out in a car.
Despite a clear motive, Roy was convicted and executed. Greer, the younger sister, was not satisfied with the original investigation.
Now it appears there is a copycat killer. Two teens, Addy and Dylan, have been murdered, similar to her sister's murder. Is someone trying to lure her back to town?
Greer returns determined to solve this mystery—her family was devasted, and they were not there for her due to their grief.
Set in a rural small town, a story of a sixteen old Greer trying to run away, and now the truth has to come out. She is now getting close to the brother of her sister's murderer, Dean. From family members, friends, and enemies, we revisit the past and present.
Told from the POV of Greer, secrets are unraveled in this slow burn character-driven mystery exploring fear, shame, guilt, trauma, loss, forgiveness, and the many ways it affects everyone close to the victims and the murder's family.
While I would not classify this as a thriller, it is a well-written raw, emotionally—engrossing heart-breaking crime psychological suspense mystery of small-town darkness, focusing on Greer's grief and struggles.
Thanks to #PenguinGroup and #NetGalley for an advanced reading copy for an honest review.
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 25, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
July 2023 Must-Read Books
Greer Dunning returns to her rural hometown of Ludlow, Kansas, from Chicago after the execution of the man, Roy Matthews, who murdered her sister, Eliza, and her boyfriend, Travis, fourteen years ago while making out in a car.
Despite a clear motive, Roy was convicted and executed. Greer, the younger sister, was not satisfied with the original investigation.
Now it appears there is a copycat killer. Two teens, Addy and Dylan, have been murdered, similar to her sister's murder. Is someone trying to lure her back to town?
Greer returns determined to solve this mystery—her family was devasted, and they were not there for her due to their grief.
Set in a rural small town, a story of a sixteen old Greer trying to run away, and now the truth has to come out. She is now getting close to the brother of her sister's murderer, Dean. From family members, friends, and enemies, we revisit the past and present.
Told from the POV of Greer, secrets are unraveled in this slow burn character-driven mystery exploring fear, shame, guilt, trauma, loss, forgiveness, and the many ways it affects everyone close to the victims and the murder's family.
While I would not classify this as a thriller, it is a well-written raw, emotionally—engrossing heart-breaking crime psychological suspense mystery of small-town darkness, focusing on Greer's grief and struggles.
Thanks to #PenguinGroup and #NetGalley for an advanced reading copy for an honest review.
Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 25, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
July 2023 Must-Read Books
allisonrae13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lampbee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
Good :) Middle of the road mystery which was what I wanted / expected. The ending was a little too predictable and wasn’t all that satisfying but it was still good :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Detailed description of the death penalty and an execution that was an understandable downermarvsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this book. My first by the author, and definitely won’t be the last!
I love books with a strong female protagonist who’s looking for answers, despite the tragedy she’s been through. This was exactly that.
The characters were reliable in their actions, and while I suspected the real villain early, it wasn’t because of anything they specifically did or said. When the villainy came to light, I was surprised along the way.
Overall, enough intrigue and mystery to keep me hooked! Not easy to do!
I love books with a strong female protagonist who’s looking for answers, despite the tragedy she’s been through. This was exactly that.
The characters were reliable in their actions, and while I suspected the real villain early, it wasn’t because of anything they specifically did or said. When the villainy came to light, I was surprised along the way.
Overall, enough intrigue and mystery to keep me hooked! Not easy to do!
swestlake's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
samran's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5. It was good! None of the twists were truly that twisty and it focused more on grief than other thrillers/mysteries do but overall it was entertaining and a solid read.
runningonwords415's review against another edition
2.0
I kept going back and forth on this rating, but ultimately, this dragged on too much for me for only being 270 pages. I figured out the culprit (sorta) around 20%, kinda forgot because a fling happened somewhere in the middle, and felt no urge to pick it back up for the last third of the book. Truly a rollercoaster. In the end, I don’t think I’d remember much of this plot or the characters, and there was an untimely death(s) that in the end felt too typical of a murder mystery.
Thank you Dutton for the gifted finished copy. All thoughts and reviews are my own.
Thank you Dutton for the gifted finished copy. All thoughts and reviews are my own.
readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition
3.0
This is my second book from the author (my first was The Familiar Dark) and I am sorry to say I am disappointed with her most recent release. I am grateful to have had access to two formats to read this book (print & audio) and I tried both because at first I wasn't getting into the audio, but the book didn't help much. I couldn't get invested in the story the way that I wanted to.
It's hard to write a proper review since I want to be vague to avoid spoilers, but some of the actions that MC made didn't quite make sense to me. I don't mind of slower paced mystery, but there wasn't enough along the way to keep me invested and the end left me kind of scratching my head.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did and will be sure to check out the author's next book for sure, but this just didn't have enough in it for me to care much about what happened once I got there. I liked how the author covered grief and how that makes a lasting impact on all involved, but that was about it. Maybe the slower pace and cast of characters (all pretty unlikeable) made for the challenges I experienced, but it seems like a lot of other readers were left wanting more also.
Thanks so much to Dutton Books for the gifted finished copy and to prhaudio for the gifted audiobook.
Review Date: 07/24/2023
Publication Date: 07/25/2023
It's hard to write a proper review since I want to be vague to avoid spoilers, but some of the actions that MC made didn't quite make sense to me. I don't mind of slower paced mystery, but there wasn't enough along the way to keep me invested and the end left me kind of scratching my head.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did and will be sure to check out the author's next book for sure, but this just didn't have enough in it for me to care much about what happened once I got there. I liked how the author covered grief and how that makes a lasting impact on all involved, but that was about it. Maybe the slower pace and cast of characters (all pretty unlikeable) made for the challenges I experienced, but it seems like a lot of other readers were left wanting more also.
Thanks so much to Dutton Books for the gifted finished copy and to prhaudio for the gifted audiobook.
Review Date: 07/24/2023
Publication Date: 07/25/2023