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beagleandbooks's review
3.0
This review is copied and pasted from my website: http://www.ourfictionaddiction.com
As Eli pointed out, this was our local book club pick for this month and I was really excited to dive into it. I've always enjoyed watching True Crime TV (especially when they have specials on serial killers) so this was right up my alley.
I have to agree with Eli that this book leads you to believe this is going to be the thriller you've been looking for all year but it won't be. As I didn't find the book ALL that awful it isn't something I would recommend or re-read. I thought of Sally Thorning to be your typical over worked/over stressed working mom. As I read about the mothers in the book, I began to wonder if mothers around the globe would feel like the way they did about motherhood? I must admit that motherhood is a tough job but isn't it supposed to be the most rewarding? Anyway, even when Sally was seeking adventure and walking on the wild side-she was still boring. There was no zest to her character (which is such a disappointment). Aside from Sally, so many people were introduced who never really developed. I don't know if the author did that to try and throw the reader off and have them thinking maybe one of the irrelevant people will turn out to be the killer? Or if it was filler space? Who knows...
The only part of the book I can honestly say I enjoyed was when the killer was found out. Because I'm so used to watching things with a killer's mind set, I came to appreciate how the story tied together. I can truly say I was disappointed that there was really no suspense. I didn't lay in bed awake wondering "who could it be?" or if there was any possible foreshadowing I may have missed. Even though I enjoyed finding out who the killer was and their motives, I can't say there was anything else about the book that I could remotely give a second thought to. :: SIGH ::
As Eli pointed out, this was our local book club pick for this month and I was really excited to dive into it. I've always enjoyed watching True Crime TV (especially when they have specials on serial killers) so this was right up my alley.
I have to agree with Eli that this book leads you to believe this is going to be the thriller you've been looking for all year but it won't be. As I didn't find the book ALL that awful it isn't something I would recommend or re-read. I thought of Sally Thorning to be your typical over worked/over stressed working mom. As I read about the mothers in the book, I began to wonder if mothers around the globe would feel like the way they did about motherhood? I must admit that motherhood is a tough job but isn't it supposed to be the most rewarding? Anyway, even when Sally was seeking adventure and walking on the wild side-she was still boring. There was no zest to her character (which is such a disappointment). Aside from Sally, so many people were introduced who never really developed. I don't know if the author did that to try and throw the reader off and have them thinking maybe one of the irrelevant people will turn out to be the killer? Or if it was filler space? Who knows...
The only part of the book I can honestly say I enjoyed was when the killer was found out. Because I'm so used to watching things with a killer's mind set, I came to appreciate how the story tied together. I can truly say I was disappointed that there was really no suspense. I didn't lay in bed awake wondering "who could it be?" or if there was any possible foreshadowing I may have missed. Even though I enjoyed finding out who the killer was and their motives, I can't say there was anything else about the book that I could remotely give a second thought to. :: SIGH ::
chip8401's review
It splintered off and stopped making sense. Story became too much work to keep up with
bethreadsandnaps's review
3.0
I listened to the audiobook version, and I'd recommend that others NOT do this. The narrator has a British accent (the occasional word was pronounced far differently or slang I didn't know) and sometimes talks too fast. It takes a while to get into and there are a lot of characters (I got confused with the various police/detectives particularly) and switching viewpoints. Even if you try to listen to this in bigger chunks, it was difficult to listen on and off because I was a bit disoriented when I started back up again. Whose perspective was it? How does this character relate to everyone else?
The "will they, won't they?" story between Charlie and Simon was very much a C plot and seemed to screw up the pacing of the whodunit.
It was an interesting psychological thriller that I found unique, especially how some of the characters portrayed motherhood. The story was a bit convoluted, as a woman who had an affair with a man a year ago finds out that his wife and daughter have been murdered. But, get this, the man with the murdered family is now a different man. Interesting book to listen to, and it probably would have been almost as convoluted if I had read it instead, based on scanning the reviews of people who read it.
The "will they, won't they?" story between Charlie and Simon was very much a C plot and seemed to screw up the pacing of the whodunit.
It was an interesting psychological thriller that I found unique, especially how some of the characters portrayed motherhood. The story was a bit convoluted, as a woman who had an affair with a man a year ago finds out that his wife and daughter have been murdered. But, get this, the man with the murdered family is now a different man. Interesting book to listen to, and it probably would have been almost as convoluted if I had read it instead, based on scanning the reviews of people who read it.
rachelwiththecoffee's review
2.0
I really enjoyed this book until the last chapters. They felt disjointed and unfinished; there were answers but also many questions either left unanswered or created. It was frustration to the finish!
stephco724's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lisaarnsdorf's review
5.0
This book kept me up at night. I did little but read yesterday in order to finish it. It was fast-paced, interesting, and modern - a great mystery! I really liked the cops and their intricate problems. The ending was complicated and I had to really pay attention. I do think the author mixed things up a little - in a sense, she offers two options for why the killer did what he did. They don't really overlap. Personally, I think it makes more sense if the guy is just plain nuts. I will definitely read another by her!
silviasbookreviews's review against another edition
3.0
Este libro tenía un grandísimo potencial a mis ojos... Y se fue todo al garete. Me gustó mucho cómo me hizo reflexionar sobre la maternidad, sobre cómo hay madres que sienten que, más que una bendición, ser madre es un castigo y los diferentes tipos de depresión que pueden ir asociados a ser madre en general. No sé, creo que esa conversación y la forma en que se muestra el papel tan prominente de la mujer en el hogar —como suele ser siempre la principal responsable del hogar y de los hijos a pesar de tener un trabajo fuera de la casa— fueron las cosas que más me atrajeron de la lectura. Y bueno, obviamente, también todo el aspecto policial y el asesinato/suicidio de Geraldine y Lucy Bretherick. Sin embargo, se me ha quedado bastante corto en el resto de aspectos: respecto a la investigación, la autora se centra en muchas ocasiones en la vida de personajes secundarios, dando detalles que realmente no interesan. Por ejemplo, la vida amorosa de Gibbs (o Sellers, realmente no me acuerdo), me interesaba menos 0 y aportaba lo mismo a la investigación del caso, al igual que la compleja relación entre Simon y Charlie que jamás se llega a explicar. Además, me enfureció mucho que, la otra madre protagonista —Sally Thorning— vaya a los extremos a los que fue para salvar su reputación y su matrimonio. Realmente que sus acciones me parecieron absurdas y que jamás las voy a entender. Own up to your mistakes, bitch.
bethnellvaccaro's review
4.0
I'm giving this four stars on the mystery scale, not literary scale. Tana French wrote the blurb on the back of this book and I think people who enjoy her books will enjoy this one. I enjoyed the story and moms will enjoy the different perspectives on the difficulties/stresses of being a mother. This book includes some pretty funny (albeit cruel) diary entries from a very unhappy mom.
wordwrestler's review
4.0
Third installment of the Waterhouse and Zailer series and the darkest yet, though not the best, in my opinion.
I’m still not a huge fan of the W&Z relationship, but it’s less overtly gross now.
The murder plot is intense. Content warnings for child murder, for torture, and for child abuse. Those warnings aside, it’s a tantalizing look at the continuum on which abuse and its rationalization can happen, and a mystery that makes sense in retrospect. Will continue with the series
I’m still not a huge fan of the W&Z relationship, but it’s less overtly gross now.
The murder plot is intense. Content warnings for child murder, for torture, and for child abuse. Those warnings aside, it’s a tantalizing look at the continuum on which abuse and its rationalization can happen, and a mystery that makes sense in retrospect. Will continue with the series