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xjuliaaaaaax's review
dark
mysterious
tense
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
2.0
Quick thoughts: The prose is pretty standard for thrillers, not stunning but not terrible. The main character has serious body image issues so be aware of that if it's something you struggle with (more below) and internalized misogyny. There are some subtly ignorant remarks throughout the book and rich white woman nonsense. Lastly, the plot is full of obvious red herrings, plot holes/devices and the final twist is mostly shocking because of its implications. Some of these may not bother you if you're just in it for a quick thriller, but they bother me.
In depth:
Let's start with body image. The main character recently had a child and her body has changed. It didn't snap back to pre-pregnancy proportions and she's struggling with this, especially now that she is meeting up with her long-time best friend who looks great. I think this was an attempt, or at least an opportunity, to talk about something that is very real and many women struggle with. She knew it was totally normal for her body to change, but she is constantly comparing herself to her friend, running herself down wondering how these gorgeous Portuguese men could possibly find attractive about her, then learning the only reason that man flirted is because he was paid to, and that her husband has cheated on her with her hot friend after they had a child and he said she wouldn't, she blames it all on her body. And nothing is ever said to counter that conclusion. We don't even know why Rob succumbs to Kate's alleged seduction - despite supposedly disliking her for the most part - other than Orla's assumption that it's because she's hot and persistent.
Then there's the random ignorant remarks peppered throughout. For example, a character who is an immigrant from Kosovo living in portugal takes her to a restaurant that serves falafel, kebab, hummus and pita... so she assumes it's Turkish. It could be Turkish. It could also be any other number of middle eastern establishments that share these very common dishes. She reminisces about a shish kebab she once had with her friend and how the guy working there cut it from the spit, which would make it a doner kebab and a different food. There's a remark about how no one outside the UK does tea right, which is comical because the British stole tea from China and then made it a large part of their colonial trade. But yeah, just the brits. These just rub me the wrong way.
Now onto the plot. Every named man is a suspect at some point. They all do just enough suspicious things to raise Orla's susipicion. Yet none of them are fully believable. One person has the strongest motive and all the other potentials pale in comparison, so the final twist, although unexpected because of the situation at the time, is also not a gut punch. It does set up a second book though, so good for Sarah I guess. To be fair, it would be a difficult plot to wrap in a tidy bow at the end anyway. But to get us to this reveal, there are a lot of convenient things. Like the woman who owns a real Birkin bag, for some reason has an outdated, thumb-print-locked iPhone. There's no indication that this book is meant to take place earlier than 2017 (when the first face ID was released - and we KNOW Kate would have been the first to get it).When Orla suspects realizes Nunes already met Kate, he freaks out and tries to kill her, but if he really isn't the murderer (as implied by the final twist) then why would he freak out? He drove her home, maybe propositioned her, and then he saw her leave on her own. If the final twist is to be believed, then Nunes should know that he saw Kate leave alive and shouldn't have had such a crazy reaction. Unless! It's a plot device! Then, at the end, Orla somehow manages to identify her husband by his stance from a dark, grainy, distant, security video. Just magically can tell that it's her husband and not Nunes. So many plot devices, this was just a couple examples.
So in conclusion, it rubbed me the wrong way for reasons outside the plot, and the plot was mediocre.
In depth:
Let's start with body image. The main character recently had a child and her body has changed. It didn't snap back to pre-pregnancy proportions and she's struggling with this, especially now that she is meeting up with her long-time best friend who looks great. I think this was an attempt, or at least an opportunity, to talk about something that is very real and many women struggle with. She knew it was totally normal for her body to change, but she is constantly comparing herself to her friend, running herself down wondering how these gorgeous Portuguese men could possibly find attractive about her
Then there's the random ignorant remarks peppered throughout. For example, a character who is an immigrant from Kosovo living in portugal takes her to a restaurant that serves falafel, kebab, hummus and pita... so she assumes it's Turkish. It could be Turkish. It could also be any other number of middle eastern establishments that share these very common dishes. She reminisces about a shish kebab she once had with her friend and how the guy working there cut it from the spit, which would make it a doner kebab and a different food. There's a remark about how no one outside the UK does tea right, which is comical because the British stole tea from China and then made it a large part of their colonial trade. But yeah, just the brits. These just rub me the wrong way.
Now onto the plot. Every named man is a suspect at some point. They all do just enough suspicious things to raise Orla's susipicion. Yet none of them are fully believable. One person has the strongest motive and all the other potentials pale in comparison, so the final twist, although unexpected because of the situation at the time, is also not a gut punch. It does set up a second book though, so good for Sarah I guess. To be fair, it would be a difficult plot to wrap in a tidy bow at the end anyway. But to get us to this reveal, there are a lot of convenient things. Like the woman who owns a real Birkin bag, for some reason has an outdated, thumb-print-locked iPhone. There's no indication that this book is meant to take place earlier than 2017 (when the first face ID was released - and we KNOW Kate would have been the first to get it).
So in conclusion, it rubbed me the wrong way for reasons outside the plot, and the plot was mediocre.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Body shaming
Minor: Racism
lazulisky's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Drug use, Infidelity, and Blood
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Gore and Suicide
meesecheese's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Drug use, and Drug abuse
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