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hollowistheworld's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
A solid enough mystery but the pacing was borked. Most mystery novels are primarily from one perspective - the detective. There's a reason for that. All the perspectives in this book muddied the plot, slowed the pace, and generally made me wish they'd get on with it, as it led to us constantly having to rehash things for the next character. I think the whole thing could have been written to be entirely from Emma's perspective and it would have streamlined the whole thing marvelously. I shouldn't be more than halfway through a book and still wondering what the hell the opening scene has to do with anything. The autism stuff too - I shouldn't be halfway through and going 'why are we spending so much time talking about this? What does this have to do with the plot?' Even at the end I was unconvinced so much of that was necessary. Mysteries, by virtue of their genre, typically need to be kept tight, and this was definitely not tight. It was a sizable bundle of plot ideas and glimpses of Ghana issues, but they connected poorly, when they connected at all. I could also write a sizable article about all the ways this book is an example of how men seem to be incapable of writing believable female characters. Men may stop paying attention to the creep staring at them at a party, but a woman who's recently escaped sexual assault? She's watching him like a hawk. Not quite a bad book - I wasn't longing for the end like with some I've read - but I wouldn't call it good either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Ableism
sarah984's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book was okay. I liked the descriptions of life in Ghana and the mystery was interesting enough, but most of the characters felt pretty flat and the writing was in an overly clinical style that I didn't really enjoy. I also caught something that looked like an editor's note that didn't get deleted (seemed like a suggestion to alter some dialogue) but that might just be in the kindle edition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Classism, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Vomit
e_flah's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The Missing American was an underwhelming read for me. The mystery is pretty slow paced and I found several of the twists easy to see coming. The large cast of characters were interesting, particularly Emma's brother Bruno. I wish there had been more character development of our main character, Emma. She came across a bit one-dimensional and was characterized largely by her relationship to others in her life, rather than who she was as an individual.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, and Ableism
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