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asteinke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder, Death, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
klpage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
However, once the big plot twist dropped 200 pages in, I wasn’t that shocked by it, and the plot just followed on from that but with what the other characters were doing in relation to the plot twist.
It was okay, but I’ve read more intense thrillers which have kept me engaged more.
Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness
kit_kat006's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, and Vomit
xojackiedaniels's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
As a former true crime enthusiast, I was intrigued by the premise of this thriller. It reminded me of this unsolved case of a toddler abduction I heard about a while ago. I was kind of excited to figure this one out and get some closure (I hate cold cases lol).
The setup was meh, with very low stakes set at the beginning. Main characters aren't much different by the end of the book, which is deeply disappointing:
• the mother has no backbone and is either sobbing or in a trance-like state throughout the whole story.
• the father is so unintelligent and immature, it made me cringe outwardly.
Both make the stupidest decisions a character in a thriller could make.
As for the secondary characters,
• one is described as a tramp with no personality beyond having a sexy body and liking money. Her and the mother used to be genuine friends according to the author, yet it seems like there wasn't a single reason why they'd get along.
• the motives of the perpetrator are implied but we don't get to hear from them or see what led up to their decision of kidnapping the baby. It really felt like the author introduced way too many characters that all had better motives for the kidnapping than the actual criminal.
• there is also a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder that I thought would be a good representation of DID at first... boy, was I mistaken!
• questionable representation of how mental illness affects violence towards others in general... I am so over thriller authors using disorders as plot devices!!! >:(
The plot itself was scarce, diluted with constant unrelated tangents and head-hopping just to describe the same scene all over again.
And what on EARTH was that atrocious ending? I would say the book was perfectly wrapped up and salvaged BEFORE the last couple of pages happened.
⭐1.5 for the intrigue and the genuine potential that was not done any justice.
TWs: child abduction, ableism, intrusive thoughts typical to postpartum depression, semigraphic violence descriptions, a character being gaslit while in a vulnerable mental state, themes of infidelity.
Graphic: Dysphoria, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Ableism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
themoodreader's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
comeundun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Car accident, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
_nicole_g's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder
garynoplastie's review
3.0
Graphic: Kidnapping and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent, Cursing, and Vomit
nabaraditi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Everything else is the opposite of good.
The characters are flat. I also didn't like the writing. There are twists in the book but they don't keep you on the edge of a seat like a thriller is supposed to.
There were plotlines in the book that didn't make sense in the story like "the wife has postpartum depression and could hurt the baby and she's drunk enough to not remember" this makes sooooo much sense, so why add the "death of her father has caused her stress and trauma and she's diagnosed with dissociative disorder"????? like why?????????
Also, the father-in-law having an affair with the lost child couple's neighbor??? I felt like that was just added to put everything together and fit it all in but it didn't make any sense to me.
And who is the title referring to? Who's the couple? The main couple who lost the baby? or their neighor-couple who secretly film the wife having sex with other men and the husband watches it later and enjoys it??
There were too many internal monologues where the husband, the wife and the detective keeps going over the story and his inferences over and over and OVER AGAIN!! like i get it!!! i don't need to read what they think must have happened soooo many times!!
Nevertheless, it was hard to put down.
Graphic: Kidnapping and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Blood and Infidelity
miciahsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Stalking, Abandonment, Bullying, and Vomit